Restricting social media access for under-16s could protect teenagers from doom-scrolling and improve their attention spans, some Tauranga teens say.
However, the teens also expressed concern a ban like Australia’s would shelter youngsters from the real world.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has said the Government is working on raising the age limit for New Zealanders accessing social media to 16.
He wants to see such a ban become law before the end of the current parliamentary term.
The move comes after strong reaction when National MP Catherine Wedd’s Social Media Age-Restricted Users Bill was introduced in May. It would put the onus on social media companies to verify users’ ages.
The Bay of Plenty Times spoke to seven Ōtūmoetai College students about the ideas.
They said while raising the age limit could encourage younger generations to form a healthier relationship with social media, it could also create other problems.
Dominik Bennett, 18, said kids today did not know a life outside of social media. He did not believe the social media ban would be successful in pushing them to socialise outside of digital spaces.
“They’re already on their phones anyway. They’re going to find other ways to entertain themselves outside of social media.”
If the ban went ahead, Dominik said: “People who are allowed to drive and only a couple of years away from voting will have never had an experience online.”
He said teens needed to learn how to cope with online peer pressure on apps such as Instagram and he was worried waiting until 16 was leaving it too late.
Dominik said when his parents grew up without social media, physical bullying was the means of harassment.
“Now the fight’s moved online,” Dominik said. “There will always be a fight. You can’t stop bullying from happening.”
He expressed concern the fight may become physical again if social media platforms were not available.
But raising the age limit to 16 could mitigate the exposure to constant dopamine and the “doom-scrolling effect”. He said his generation lost attention quickly because of the instant satisfaction of having everything on demand via social media.
“My sister can’t watch a two-hour movie,” Dominik said. “She goes on TikTok, finds the best bits, and keeps scrolling.”
Lifting the age limit would help younger generations become more attentive, Dominik said.
Dayna Bennett, 18, agreed and said late blooming could be a good thing.
“If we grow up without social media, then when we get to 16 it’s like a new exciting thing, but you’re not dependent on it. You’re not reliant on it for your everyday source of dopamine,” she said.
The transition period from 13 to 16 would be difficult for kids who already had social media, Dayna said. However, once it was in play, the ban could be beneficial to people who had never had it.
Dayna said the ban may help students experience the benefits of social media, rather than wasting their time, becoming addicted, or depending on false connections.
Instead of using social media, Dayna messages her closest friends via text.
On the other hand, Olivia Finau, 13, said she used social media to stay in touch with long-distance friends and family – her cousin, for example, who owned an iPad, not a phone.
Being under 16, Olivia wouldn’t be able to communicate with her cousin if a social media restriction were in place.
Will Martin, 14, said he used social media to “connect with people I wouldn’t usually see and learn about their experiences and their perspectives, which I feel like has broadened my learning”.
Social media connected them, regardless of geographical restrictions.
However, Lucia Poff, 16, said the ban was too late.
“People who are younger than 13 already have social media,” she said. “People who are 9 years old are already addicted to their phones.”
Maonga Te Ruku Gallagher Harrison, 15, expanded on Dominik’s comments about bullying, saying he believed social media should be banned for 18-year-olds as well. He said rangatahi (young people) needed to wake up and realise the harmful consequences of social media on mental health.
Ashton Zhou, 16, called social media a “double-edged sword”.
“If we’re taught to use things properly, if we’re taught to separate ourselves from the screen, I think it can be used really well.
“Social media can’t hurt you,” he said.
“You’re using something that’s inanimate, and the way you’ve used it may indirectly lead to not-so-great things happening. And unfortunately, that’s something that we have to live with as people who are growing up around technology.”
Ōtūmoetai College principal Russell Gordon supported the intent of the bill, saying as an educator he had seen social media misused and online drama spill into school life.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told the Herald in May that restricting access for under-16s would help protect kids from bullying, harmful content and social media addiction.
– Bijou Johnson is an intern journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times.