Social media giant Meta has tried to issue a defence, despite ongoing efforts to regulate the technology in Parliament.
National MP Catherine Wedd recently put forward a member’s bill to ban social media for under-16s - a plan backed by the Prime Minister.
Wedd says this technology is causing harm to young people and it needs to be taken seriously.
"That addiction leads to other places, it leads to cyberbullying, it leads to anxiety, it leads to depression - and we see some of our kids going into deep, dark places on social media."
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from News Talk ZEDB. Follow
this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Messa's regional director of Policy, Mia Garlic told MPs during
a sleek committee that Instagram is not inherently addictive. It's
on the back of national MP Katherine Weed's members build
a band social Media for under sixteens, and Katherine Weed
joins us now, very good afternoon to you.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Good afternoon.
Speaker 4 (00:34):
Now, do you think that there are things intentionally used
on the meta platform to get people addicted?
Speaker 3 (00:41):
There's no doubt that social media is addictive and the
constant scrolling, you know, studies show it does release dopening,
a feel good feeling through the likes, the comments, and
the constant new content that becomes addictive to wanting to scroll,
wanting to see more, wanting to see more lights, the comments.
(01:04):
And I think from kids point of view, it's very
difficult to control that. It's hard enough for adults to control,
let alone children. And that's why I think that we
need to look seriously at protecting our children and regulating
social media for under sixteen year old because of course
that addiction leads to other places. It leads to cyber bullying.
(01:27):
It leads to anxiety, to depression, and to some of
our kids going into deep dark places on social media.
So absolutely it is addictive and dangerous, so.
Speaker 4 (01:38):
Addictive, But do you believe it's intentionally addictive?
Speaker 3 (01:43):
I think that the algorithms and the way in which
content is served up is concerning, particularly for our young
children who will have content said at them, and for
some young children they don't understand the content itself and
(02:04):
how harming that potentially could be.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
So specifically, what sort of damage do you think social
media is doing well?
Speaker 3 (02:14):
I think that you know, it's easy for a ten
year old to set up an account and to pose
as sixteen year old. It's equally easy for a forty
eight year old man to pose as a twelve year
old girl. And you know that's concerning because you know,
we are seeing the harms and we're seeing the cases
(02:37):
come through, you know, not just in that respect in
terms of you know, exploitation and exploitation, but also the
harms that we're seeing with mental health, in terms of anxiety, depression,
and these are concerning for our young people. And that's
why I brought this bill fort and I believe that
(03:00):
we need to move and do more as governments around
the world to protect our young children from the online harm.
And you can see governments around the world moving to
protect our kids.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
So clearly, Catherine, you've put forward this bill and it
is a tangible thing that you're pushing forward to ban
these platforms for under sixteen. But do you think the
platforms that have a wider responsibility if there are addictive
harms or elements of those platforms that are damaging people's
mental health that are causing those addictive features, do you
think they have a responsibility to do something about that.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
I think they absolutely have responsibility, and my bill puts
the onus on the social media companies to take more
responsibility in terms of age verification and ensuring that the
people that are on the platforms are the age that
they say they are. And at the moment, the social
(03:57):
media platforms aren't doing enough in this space, and I
think they need to do more. They need to take
on a social responsibility as well.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
What does that mean for free speech? Single person has
to apply an ID to well, let's face facts, an
American social media company or corporation and identifying themselves online.
What does that do for free speech in our democracy.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
I think there's always platforms that people can express themselves.
But I think this is really about protecting our children
and our most vulnerable from the harms of social media
and the platforms, not just from the content that's been
set up to them, but the predators that we see
that are approaching our young girls and young children. And
(04:48):
so at the moment, there's not a lot of restriction
in the online world. You know, we have restrictions in
the physical world when it comes to alcohols, aping, smoking,
and driving, but we had very few restrictions in the
online world. And there are hardly any safety rails and
seat belts to protect our kids online. So you know,
that's why I'm making a stand and I'm championing a
(05:10):
bill which will regulate social media for under sixteen year olds.
Speaker 4 (05:13):
But you do understand what what's been saying by a
lot of people that often restrictions are coming on the
back of safety concerns and then they take rights from
people and well meaning, well meaning for the safety of
our children. But then you know, it can have consequences
on free speech. So you know, how are you balancing
(05:36):
that in your mind?
Speaker 3 (05:38):
You know, look, I'm hearing from more and more concerned
parents every day, school principles, teachers, medical professionals in our
community that are concerned about the online harms children are
facing every day with the deep dark dangers of social media.
And you know, we hear it every day from cyberbillion,
cases of sextortion, mounting instances of abuse, mental health issues,
(06:03):
eating disorders, social media addiction, and you know, inappropriate content
has been fed to our innocent children every day, every hour,
every minute, every second. A concerned It's a concern for
many people in our community, and I think as governments,
we need to do more to protect our kids online.
Speaker 4 (06:26):
Now an age band, it has been pointed out that
could be pretty hard to enforce and may actually push
teens to unsupervised platforms and using VPNs because the kids'
kids are incredibly smart and more savvy than we ever
were at their age. I mean, are you worried about that?
(06:46):
So you're banned the slightly regulated platforms and the and
the ones that are out in the light, and then
the kids we'll just head off to the ones that
operate in the dark, your fore chains and stars.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
I think operationally, you know, that's what we are looking
at looking at how we could implement and enforce a
ban or some kind of regulation or restriction, and you know,
ultimately it's not going to be perfect. You know, we
still see kids out there drinking, still see kids out
(07:22):
there vaping. You know, you can't stop everyone. But this
is about creating a consistent message that the government says
it's not okay. So it's not okay. And if we
look at the cell phone band that we've already brought
in in schools, it's been really successful. You know, I've
got a lot of principles and teachers now saying to me, hey,
(07:42):
the kids are talking to each other, they are engaging,
they're focusing on their learning, and so this is a
natural progression from that where we get our kids back
to engaging and talking with one another rather than on
the screen.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
Catherine, really appreciate you joining us on the show this afternoon.
All the best with the rest of the Select Committee
process and where the bill goes from here or the
very best.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
That is National mp A Katherine Webb behind the Members
Bill to ban social media for under sixteenes.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
For more from News Talk st B, listen live on
air or online and keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio,
You're listening to a podcast from News Talk ZEDB. Follow
this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Messa's regional director of Policy, Mia Garlic told MPs during
a sleek committee that Instagram is not inherently addictive. It's
on the back of national MP Katherine Weed's members build
a band social Media for under sixteens, and Katherine Weed
joins us now, very good afternoon to you.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Good afternoon.
Speaker 4 (00:34):
Now, do you think that there are things intentionally used
on the meta platform to get people addicted?
Speaker 3 (00:41):
There's no doubt that social media is addictive and the
constant scrolling, you know, studies show it does release dopening,
a feel good feeling through the likes, the comments, and
the constant new content that becomes addictive to wanting to scroll,
wanting to see more, wanting to see more lights, the comments.
(01:04):
And I think from kids point of view, it's very
difficult to control that. It's hard enough for adults to control,
let alone children. And that's why I think that we
need to look seriously at protecting our children and regulating
social media for under sixteen year old because of course
that addiction leads to other places. It leads to cyber bullying.
(01:27):
It leads to anxiety, to depression, and to some of
our kids going into deep dark places on social media.
So absolutely it is addictive and dangerous, so.
Speaker 4 (01:38):
Addictive, But do you believe it's intentionally addictive?
Speaker 3 (01:43):
I think that the algorithms and the way in which
content is served up is concerning, particularly for our young
children who will have content said at them, and for
some young children they don't understand the content itself and
(02:04):
how harming that potentially could be.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
So specifically, what sort of damage do you think social
media is doing well?
Speaker 3 (02:14):
I think that you know, it's easy for a ten
year old to set up an account and to pose
as sixteen year old. It's equally easy for a forty
eight year old man to pose as a twelve year
old girl. And you know that's concerning because you know,
we are seeing the harms and we're seeing the cases
(02:37):
come through, you know, not just in that respect in
terms of you know, exploitation and exploitation, but also the
harms that we're seeing with mental health, in terms of anxiety, depression,
and these are concerning for our young people. And that's
why I brought this bill fort and I believe that
(03:00):
we need to move and do more as governments around
the world to protect our young children from the online harm.
And you can see governments around the world moving to
protect our kids.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
So clearly, Catherine, you've put forward this bill and it
is a tangible thing that you're pushing forward to ban
these platforms for under sixteen. But do you think the
platforms that have a wider responsibility if there are addictive
harms or elements of those platforms that are damaging people's
mental health that are causing those addictive features, do you
think they have a responsibility to do something about that.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
I think they absolutely have responsibility, and my bill puts
the onus on the social media companies to take more
responsibility in terms of age verification and ensuring that the
people that are on the platforms are the age that
they say they are. And at the moment, the social
(03:57):
media platforms aren't doing enough in this space, and I
think they need to do more. They need to take
on a social responsibility as well.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
What does that mean for free speech? Single person has
to apply an ID to well, let's face facts, an
American social media company or corporation and identifying themselves online.
What does that do for free speech in our democracy.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
I think there's always platforms that people can express themselves.
But I think this is really about protecting our children
and our most vulnerable from the harms of social media
and the platforms, not just from the content that's been
set up to them, but the predators that we see
that are approaching our young girls and young children. And
(04:48):
so at the moment, there's not a lot of restriction
in the online world. You know, we have restrictions in
the physical world when it comes to alcohols, aping, smoking,
and driving, but we had very few restrictions in the
online world. And there are hardly any safety rails and
seat belts to protect our kids online. So you know,
that's why I'm making a stand and I'm championing a
(05:10):
bill which will regulate social media for under sixteen year olds.
Speaker 4 (05:13):
But you do understand what what's been saying by a
lot of people that often restrictions are coming on the
back of safety concerns and then they take rights from
people and well meaning, well meaning for the safety of
our children. But then you know, it can have consequences
on free speech. So you know, how are you balancing
(05:36):
that in your mind?
Speaker 3 (05:38):
You know, look, I'm hearing from more and more concerned
parents every day, school principles, teachers, medical professionals in our
community that are concerned about the online harms children are
facing every day with the deep dark dangers of social media.
And you know, we hear it every day from cyberbillion,
cases of sextortion, mounting instances of abuse, mental health issues,
(06:03):
eating disorders, social media addiction, and you know, inappropriate content
has been fed to our innocent children every day, every hour,
every minute, every second. A concerned It's a concern for
many people in our community, and I think as governments,
we need to do more to protect our kids online.
Speaker 4 (06:26):
Now an age band, it has been pointed out that
could be pretty hard to enforce and may actually push
teens to unsupervised platforms and using VPNs because the kids'
kids are incredibly smart and more savvy than we ever
were at their age. I mean, are you worried about that?
(06:46):
So you're banned the slightly regulated platforms and the and
the ones that are out in the light, and then
the kids we'll just head off to the ones that
operate in the dark, your fore chains and stars.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
I think operationally, you know, that's what we are looking
at looking at how we could implement and enforce a
ban or some kind of regulation or restriction, and you know,
ultimately it's not going to be perfect. You know, we
still see kids out there drinking, still see kids out
(07:22):
there vaping. You know, you can't stop everyone. But this
is about creating a consistent message that the government says
it's not okay. So it's not okay. And if we
look at the cell phone band that we've already brought
in in schools, it's been really successful. You know, I've
got a lot of principles and teachers now saying to me, hey,
(07:42):
the kids are talking to each other, they are engaging,
they're focusing on their learning, and so this is a
natural progression from that where we get our kids back
to engaging and talking with one another rather than on
the screen.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
Catherine, really appreciate you joining us on the show this afternoon.
All the best with the rest of the Select Committee
process and where the bill goes from here or the
very best.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
That is National mp A Katherine Webb behind the Members
Bill to ban social media for under sixteenes.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
For more from News Talk st B, listen live on
air or online and keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio,
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