Lisa & Russell: Touch Grass, Homie

The day has finally arrived  social media for under-16s has officially been banned in Australia. Lisa & Russell broke down what the change means and shared some practical tips for kids and parents navigating a suddenly screen-light household.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Lisa and Russell this morning on this a very momentous day.
It's the day that kids under sixteen will go to
their Insta or their snapchats and there's no they're out.
It's locked out.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
It's a monumental day. I can't think of anything that
happened in our childhood to compare it with.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
To be fair, it's to the little seismic shift in
their world. It is.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
It is the It is a world first push to
protect kids from online harm and phone addiction from now
on certain social media platforms.

Speaker 1 (00:37):
They still use games though they can.

Speaker 2 (00:39):
Yeah, well imagine trying to take away our Pong.

Speaker 1 (00:44):
You know, I didn't they have the little was it
a little Nintendo? Look at a little handheld thing where
you're playing Donkey Kong and things like that. Those on
the Telly. But they have the little handheld ones that
you could use in the in the car and stuff
as well.

Speaker 2 (00:58):
So, but fifty million dollars penalty for social media platforms
if they're caught and not complying. A Prime Minister Anthony
albaneze I thought this was funny. He made a video
addressed kids. This must have gone down like a lead balloon.
He said, make the most of your school holidays coming up,
rather than spending it scrolling on your phone. Start a

(01:19):
new sport, a new instruments.

Speaker 1 (01:21):
Sorry, read that book that's.

Speaker 2 (01:22):
Been sitting there on your shelf for some time. It
reminded me of when Donald Trump said, Gretathon burgsh go
and see a movie.

Speaker 1 (01:31):
Mister Prime minister, if I could offer you some advice
when you say, come on, go out and read a
book and pick up a cricket mat, that is just
an invitation for they're going to do something else. They're
going to go against the grame because that's what kids,
that's what touch grass. Yes, so you would.

Speaker 2 (01:52):
Have been even worse when an old person tries to
talk you lingo, touch grass, homie.

Speaker 1 (01:58):
It would have been better if he just said stop,
just no more. You're not allowed to put the phone down.
That's it. Not allowed to put the phone down. That's it.
You know, don't tell them to pick up a book
because snapchat. They're not going to do that. But it
is it. Look, the onus is actually not really on kids,

(02:21):
and it's not on parents. The for instance that it's
on the social media platforms, that's not actually a bad thing.
And this thing seems to be gathering momentum around the world. Now,
this is going to really put pressure on those platforms
who have had free reign for the last some of
them nearly twenty years to do whatever.

Speaker 2 (02:42):
The world is absolutely watching this, and when you.

Speaker 1 (02:45):
Think about some recent elections that have gone on, how
quick they've been able to snap down what they call
misinformation whether it is or not. But they seem to
have the resources to be able to shut things down
in a nanosecond. But when it comes to things around
kids and protecting kids, they seem to drag their feet.

(03:07):
Oh it's all a little bit too hard. Well, maybe
this might be the wake up call now because it's
going to affect their bottom line that they're going to
have to maybe put some effort.

Speaker 2 (03:16):
Into us from bringing it back to absolute basics for
me for a second, how how does Snapchat and Facebook
and all of that TikTok? How do they know the
person using it is under sixteen?

Speaker 1 (03:31):
I don't know. I guess they're going to use their algorithmly.
It's not like when you go.

Speaker 2 (03:34):
On the BWS website and it says are ua teen?

Speaker 1 (03:37):
Sure, well, I think they're using facial aren't they going
to use facial recognition and that yeah no, because that
technology is here.

Speaker 2 (03:45):
No, they're not just going to go yeah no, you
don't look sixteen or because I mean that's I know.

Speaker 1 (03:51):
Well this, I mean, this goes back to when you
used to go to nightclubs at exactly and exactly.

Speaker 2 (03:56):
I've looked to this age since I was twelve.

Speaker 1 (04:03):
We will see, it's going to be interesting, and the
timing is perfect. School holidays and they lock it down.

Speaker 2 (04:10):
I'm bored.

Speaker 1 (04:11):
Oh my god. Parents, brace it's gonna be a fun
summer holiday. Lay down your guns and your phones. Kids,