CSB - Amy Thaler - American Corespondent

Social media issues stateside. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Country Sport Breakfast with Brian Kelly on
gold Sport.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
Ronnie stay away from me.

Speaker 1 (00:11):
Well, it's been a couple of weeks since we've caught
up with our US correspondent Amy Taylor. She's been tied
up with her daughter's graduation. Good morning, Amy.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Good morning DK. Nice to be back with you. It's
been a while.

Speaker 1 (00:24):
A it has been a while. You've had lots of visitors.
Your daughter's graduated from high school. She's now going to
become a big college girl. So it's been a busy
time over.

Speaker 2 (00:33):
There, it has. And you know, graduations here I think
have gotten out of control, as most things in America
tend to do. I don't know. Do they have graduations
there for all different levels like kindy and middle school
like they do here.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
Probably not, as far as I know. It's been a
wee while since my kids were at kindy. But yeah,
of course we have graduation at d University. But really
that's about all I think.

Speaker 2 (00:59):
Yeah, so here they do it. It's crazy they do
it from like kindergarten graduation. I mean, even with caps
and gowns in middle school. I don't know so much
for caps and gowns at middle school, but it's just
gotten crazy. But high school graduation is a big thing here,
you know, all over social media, caps and gowns a

(01:20):
whole bit, and of course university as well. Uh but
and there's a bit a lot of debate about social
media and what age do kids get social media, which
kind of leads me into my first topic. Actually, BK,
there's a big thing about the Surgeon General is now
calling for warning labels and social media and I don't know,

(01:40):
I mean, your kids are older, but it was a
big topic about when kids should get you know, phones
and social media, and I don't know what the kind
of standard is there. Do you have friends that are
having this issue.

Speaker 1 (01:54):
Well, there's been talking just last night on news there
was a story about your band to a certain age
and so on. But Judith Collins has come out and said,
really it's up to the parents more than anybody else
to control the phones when they get them.

Speaker 2 (02:10):
Yeah, so there is that, but it I think the
parents have to kind of band together. But now with Blyt,
she didn't get she didn't get a phone until middle
school and that was more for safety and communication. And
I was pretty tight about you know, she didn't have
Internet access. She had it was I really locked it down.
But she did not have social media until very recently,

(02:34):
I mean within the last few months. So she made
it nearly to eighteen without any social media platforms, and
she had access to YouTube through her computer, but she
didn't have Instagram until very very I mean just within
the last few months. But the Surgeon General is really
coming out hard. He said something about, you know, referencing

(02:55):
the harm to teenagers mental health and wellbeing. That harms
are not a failure willpower and parenting, but more there
are consequence of unleashing powerful technology without adequate safety measures,
transparency and accountability, and really, you know, he's saying that
it's no less urgent than the the you know, posed

(03:16):
the threats posed by unsafe planes, cars or food and
something like. Teens are on their on social media platforms
about four point eight hours on average, and anything three
or hours or more significantly increases the risk of mental
health problems. So he's calling for this for warning labels

(03:36):
on all social media platforms.

Speaker 1 (03:38):
I get the feeling the horse might have bolted there though.
Never mind, the Supreme Court over there has been very
very busy lately.

Speaker 2 (03:44):
Oh indeed, so last week they ruled a unanimous decision
actually on the abortion pill methachristone, to remain available in
thirty six states. Medication abortions account for about sixty three
percent of all abortions in the US in twenty twenty three.
That's up more than half from twenty twenty A remarkable

(04:05):
unanimous decision, and it was that there was no legal standing.
It was brought by a bunch of several anti abortion
doctors were the plaintiffs, and they had no legal standing.
But it's not the end of it really. Other states
still planned to sue on other tactics. And then the
other decision that came through Summers, a busy month for
the Court, was that they also overruled a Trump era

(04:28):
ban on bump stocks, which are those rapid fire accessories
that simulate machine gun fire, and those were used in
the Las Vegas mass shooting, which was the deadliest mass
shooting in the US. And it was the conservative majority,
many of whom are Trump appointees, that wrote the ruling,

(04:48):
and they said that the administration overstepped their authority when
it banned trump stocks. The decision was written by Justice Thomas,
and it noted that each trigger depressed in rapid succession
still only releases one shot. Yeah, okay, but it does
so is at a rate of eight hundred rounds per minute.

(05:11):
And what the decision is really saying, though, is that
Congress needs to act and not the president. And that
was noted by a conservative Justice Alito and a liberal
justice Justice Soda Mayor. So it's really that Congress has
to make the change. But I don't know, I think
that's pretty unlikely.

Speaker 1 (05:29):
Absolutely, Amy, always good to catch up. It was great.
We'll do it again nixt week. Look after yourself.

Speaker 2 (05:35):
Thanks BK. Have a good one.

Speaker 1 (05:36):
Amy Taylor a US correspondent out of Washington, DC, here
on the Country Sport Breakfast on Golf's