Anna North, a Senior Correspondent at Vox, dives into the rising trend of social media bans for minors. She discusses Australia's recent law raising the minimum age to 16, holding companies accountable for compliance. The conversation touches on mental health implications for teens and the ongoing U.S. legislative efforts surrounding this issue. North also examines innovative age verification methods and highlights the challenges of balancing online safety with accessibility for marginalized youth.
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Australia's Social Media Ban
Australia is considering raising the minimum age for social media access from 13 to 16.
This is partly influenced by Jonathan Haidt's book, The Coddled Mind, and concerns about teen mental health.
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Age Verification Challenges
Enforcing age restrictions on social media involves using government IDs or algorithms.
These methods raise privacy concerns and aren't foolproof, as teens may try to bypass them.
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Potential Harms of Social Media Bans
Social media bans can harm young people by cutting off access to online communities.
These communities provide support, especially for marginalized youth.
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In 'The Anxious Generation', Jonathan Haidt examines the sudden decline in the mental health of adolescents starting in the early 2010s. He attributes this decline to the shift from a 'play-based childhood' to a 'phone-based childhood', highlighting mechanisms such as sleep deprivation, attention fragmentation, addiction, loneliness, social contagion, and perfectionism that interfere with children’s social and neurological development. Haidt proposes four simple rules to address this issue: no smartphones before high school, no social media before age 16, phone-free schools, and more opportunities for independence, free play, and responsibility. The book offers a clear call to action for parents, teachers, schools, tech companies, and governments to restore a more humane childhood and end the epidemic of mental illness among youth.
Social media bans for minors have been making the rounds internationally. Now, Congress is looking to follow that lead.
In November, Australia imposed a sweeping ban on social media for users under 16 years old. The ban holds social media companies responsible for enforcing age restrictions on their sites and prohibits minors under that age limit from using those platforms or creating new accounts.
The law doesn't name specific apps or websites, but companies could face fines of up to $32 million if they violate the ban.
We discuss how social media bans like Australia's are enforced and what it would take to pass similar measures in the U.S.
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