Nathan Wallis: Parenting expert on the damage caused by social media, ban for under 16s

Social media for under 16s is being compared to the harm caused by cigarette smoking. 

Clear evidence shows that social media can be linked to depression and anxiety. 

This has led to National introducing a member's bill to ban social media for those under 16 years of age, to protect kids. 

Parenting expert Nathan Wallace told Ryan Bridge implementing a ban for under 16s sends the message that, like cigarettes and alcohol, social media is something we need to monitor. 

He says social media is worse than we originally thought, so we now need to take the responsible steps to protect our kids from it. 

LISTEN ABOVE 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
And that's a putting forward a member's bill that bans
social media for under sixteen year olds. The TOOKI tookimp
Catherine Web's bill would put responsibility of age verification on
the social media companies, so that's their job. The idea
is supported by the Prime Minister, but ACT doesn't like it.
Nathan Wallace's parenting expert with us this morning. Nathan, good morning,
Good morning, Ryan.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
How are you mate?

Speaker 1 (00:21):
Very good? Thank you great to have you on the show.
Now to phones, have we established that phones make kids
depressed and messed with their heads and turns them into
you nutbars?

Speaker 2 (00:31):
Oh yeah, The short answer is yere, we have that.
In the last like three years, the research has really
moved from being coronith where where those we know that
they started to get anxiety and depression rates started to
go up at the same time as kids got cell phones.
But that's not the same as causative research that actually
shows us causing it, Whereas now there's clear evidence that
shows that social media is actually causing the depression and anxiety.

Speaker 1 (00:53):
Okay, so Tick, we do know that we can say
that definitively alcohol does bad things to them, Drugs does that,
cigarettes is bad for your health. We don't let them
do that, so should really? Yeah, so what are we doing?

Speaker 2 (01:05):
Yeah, that's my way of thinking too. I think it's
been a social experiment because we didn't know it was bad.
It's going back to those old days when they didn't
know cigarette smoking was bad, so you know, doctors recommend
it and stuff. But then that changed, and I think
it's a similar situation. We now know, oh, whoops, that's
way worse than we thought, way worse and were comprehended,
and now we need to, you know, be the responsible
parents and take the steps to protect our kids from it.

Speaker 1 (01:28):
How do you do that? Though? If a kid gets drunk,
you can tell because they're stumbling around the house, they
smell like cigarettes. How do you tell what they've been
using a phone?

Speaker 2 (01:37):
I think there is no hard, fast way that you
can always tell. I mean, there's all the obvious parenting
things of restricting it. But I think just by making
it that they're not supposed to have one for the
age of sixteen, it's just going to take it out
of being the norm and instead of every other kid
at school having one, And it just sends the message
that it is like cigarettes and alcohol is something we
need to monitor because it's not just teenagers, it's you know,

(01:59):
there's an issue with them on screens right from the
time you're a child. You know, the World Health Organization
says children under two shouldn't look at screens at all,
you know, the appropriate number of minutes per day they
can look at a screen without doing damage a zero.
And then we know it has big impacts on you know,
if you give your four year old the cell phone
or the iPad is a reward, they never want any
other award after that. It's all the creativity that you know,

(02:20):
sand castle building, the tree huts they're making and stuff.
That stuff doesn't tend to happen because all they want
to do is go online and you know, go and
have the screen from of them. It's because it gives
so much dopamine to the brain, just like alcohol does.
You know, alcohol gives you a great big breast of
dopamine and to feel good stuff.

Speaker 1 (02:36):
But at least at least you have some fun though, yeah, yeah,
and at least it's social. At least it's actually social,
whereas this is not the it's the antithesis of it.
Nathan really appreciate you coming on the show. If I
let you talk any longer, I'm going to get more depressed. God,
isn't that frightening. Nathan Wallace's parenting expert, with us this morning.

Speaker 2 (02:56):
For more Familily edition with Ryan Bridge. Listen live to
news talks. It'd be from five am weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.