Not all screen time is equal: Wrestling with a YouTube ban for kids
Early on in my parenting journey a girlfriend sent a post that said, 'To say all screen time is the same is like saying all paper time is the same.' Or like saying that reading this masthead is the same quality of paper time as reading New Idea or opening a utility bill, or reading philosophy or folding origami.
It is obvious how ridiculous that argument is. Surely an 11-year-old reading The Day My Butt Exploded is not the same quality of paper time as reading Harry Potter. It is the same for screen time. Not all screen time is equal.
Psychologists and parenting experts have used analogies galore to explain this to parents, schools and governments. Like the nutritional pyramid, Jocelyn Brewer refers to 'Digital Nutrition' with the 'good screen time' at the bottom, where wholegrains are and the 'sometimes screen time' at the top with lollies and chocolate.
While YouTube does have some educational videos and helpful 'instructionals', it also has a lot of toxic video content. I'm talking about misogynistic content, violent content and young people doing really stupid stuff that our kids then try to replicate, and I mean more stupid than the Mentos in the Diet Coke bottle.
I am sceptical about the social media ban for under-16s, not because I am a great fan of social media for kids, but because I'm not confident it will work. If kids under 16 have figured out how to bypass Lime Bike rentals, you don't think they'll figure out how to use social media?
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But if we are moving forward with a social media ban, and it looks like we are, then there are some things that will make it work. The first is Australian parents getting behind it. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the ban was designed so parents could say to their children social media is 'against the law'. That only works if we as parents don't succumb to the wiles of our children. Don't budge if Jonny or Susie are using it. Hold the line.
Currently, YouTube has been exempted from the ban. But the eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, wants to change that.
Frankly, it would be farcical to ban social media but allow YouTube for under-16s. While it doesn't have the 'social' elements of other sites, it has the same dangerous content and misinformation. It would be like banning fast food but keeping McDonalds. To say that YouTube is somehow a better use of screen time than other social media apps such as Snapchat, TikTok or Instagram is nuts. So good on Inman Grant for pointing that out.
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