Limiting children’s access to social media could inadvertently harm marginalised children, an expert has warned, as YouTube is roped into Australia’s ban.
The federal government’s decision to include the video-sharing platform in its social media ban for under-16s has renewed focus on the measure.
While it has been broadly celebrated by the coalition and Labor, who say it will protect children from the harms of social media, youth mental health foundation Headspace disagrees.
“This is seen as a solution and it may be helpful, we don’t know. But it may cause harm as well,” national clinical advisor Simon Dodd told AAP.
“We’ve talked to young people and they value social media. They value the connections it gives them.”
This was particularly true for those who struggled to find physical community in parts of regional or rural Australia, and for LGBTQI youth, who use social media platforms to find support and stay safe, Mr Dodd said.
Mental health is complicated as there are many factors that can impact it, including a person’s social environment, and focusing on one measure as a solution risks missing opportunities to address young people’s challenges .
From December, people under 16 will no longer be able to create accounts on social media platforms such as Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook ,TikTok and now YouTube.
Platforms that fail to conform with these rules face fines of up to $49.5 million.
Eating disorder not-for-profit Hide N Seek warned YouTube could be home to harmful content such as extreme videos about body transformations or “what I eat in a day” media.
“It can be extremely damaging, extremely damaging for children who are still developing their sense of self,” founder Jaimee Krawitz told AAP.
“But YouTube also hosts supportive, recovery-focused communities and educational content that can be part of a young person’s healing journey.”
The changes will still allow children to access YouTube Kids or view videos accessible without an account.
Though he recognised regulation was part of the answer to making online spaces safer, Mr Dodd has also urged the government to centre on young people’s voices.
“They have consistently told us they get the complexities of the social media environment and understand it better than many of the adults who are trying to legislate something that is difficult to manage,” he said.
“Without genuine consultation, this will result in young people feeling less trust in government and that is a real worry.”
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