31-05-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
McCaws support youth social media ban
Hāwea Flat's newest celebrity residents, the McCaw family, are rallying in support of a social media ban for youth.
Former Black Stick Gemma McCaw and husband Richie McCaw are backing the B416 campaign as they run a tight ship in their own home when it comes to using technology.
The campaign began as a way of validating the government's proposed Bill to restrict social media use for children under 16, following Australia's recently adopted legislation.
Mrs McCaw gave a strong endorsement to the campaign this month when she attended the B416 launch in Auckland.
She said as a mother of three young girls aged between 2 and 6years old, this was an issue close to her heart.
For her, it was not just about banning social media for under-16s. She felt a fundamental shift was needed in the way technology was used in the home for both parents and children.
"We can't tell our kids to get off their devices if we're not willing to do it ourselves.
"... For Richie and I, we just want to be really intentional with our own use," she said.
She believed the overuse of phones was contributing to a decline in people's mental health, and children needed extra protection.
"It's just the unfiltered access on the internet that's really, really harmful, and that's kind of my worry," she said.
Having moved to Hāwea Flat last year, Mrs McCaw said there was more opportunity to implement healthier choices for her children as there was a stronger sense of community and a plethora of outdoor activities.
The proposed member's Bill would require social media companies to put a system in place designed to verify a user was over 16 years old.
It is unclear what the verification process would look like or which platforms would be included in the ban, as the government works with Education Minister Erica Stanford to better direct the final Bill.
Other members of the Hāwea and Wānaka community were equally supportive of the campaign.
Hāwea parent Alex Walton said the campaign was important for parents who were struggling to manage their children's social media use.
"It gives that reassurance to parents that we're all on the same page here ... It sparks that discussion around 'what measures are safe?' and 'what boundaries do we want to put in place?'," she said.
One of the social media features Ms Walton was concerned about was youths seeing their friends on social media in real time.
It created a sense of exclusion, as young people could see their friends taking part in activities they were not included in.
Christchurch educator and founder of Little Kiwis Nature Play, Celia Hogan, gave a talk on Monday at the Wānaka Community Hub, exploring how smartphones could shape childhoods. As part of her organisation's work, she has held workshops on how to engage children outdoors and keep them safe online.
"We've got increased mental health and wellbeing issues. We've got safety concerns on screens. And a lot of us parents didn't grow up with screens in that way."
She was an advocate for not only B416 but also the Smartphone Free Childhood campaign, a movement that started last year.
It was started by United Kingdom mothers Daisy Greenwell and Clare Fernyhough, who were passionate about delaying their children's smartphone use.
This made its way to New Zealand and there are now ambassadors across the country helping raise awareness of the dangers associated with early smartphone use.
