University of Otago department of psychology associate professor Damian Scarf’s comments come as the Australian federal government pushes ahead on a proposal to ban the use of social media for people under 16.
The Guardian reported yesterday the Australian federal government would introduce its legislation to bar children from social media in the coming fortnight — though a long-awaited government-funded trial of age-assurance technology has not begun and will not report back before the Bill is introduced
Prof Scarf, who specialises in child development and adolescent behaviour, questioned whether such a ban would achieve its aspirations of improved mental health for young people.
‘‘From a child safety perspective, I can understand it more, in terms of online environments potentially being dangerous spaces for young people, and them wanting to protect young people from being contacted by adults.
‘‘But if the thought is that this will translate into gains in mental health and wellbeing, I think that’s a bit more difficult to make a strong statement on.’’
Prof Scarf said there were aspects of social media, such as communication, that could be critical to a child or adolescent’s mental health and wellbeing.
However, there were very real traps with social media
— ‘‘image-based platforms like Instagram that focus a lot on things like body image’’.
‘‘We know that young people are susceptible to idealised bodies or the depiction of certain body types as normal, and we know that this has a negative impact on young females and young males and young people in general.’’
Parents and adults needed to keep lines of communication open with children and adolescents about any concerns they have about social media.
‘‘There’s always been examples over time of this tension — it used to be young people and video games, and obviously there’s still a tension, and so I think the most critical thing is for parents to maintain those lines of communication.
Having a structure for social media, or encouraging ‘‘down time’’ could be a good compromise, Prof Scarf said.
‘‘Some parents I know turn off the Wi-Fi at certain times or have certain times at home, and I think those types of approaches are good, so rather than outright banning them in the household.’’
Any rules needed to come with explanations, he said.
‘‘For example, the getting off social media or putting the smartphone away at a certain time at night is a good idea because research suggests that it has an impact on sleep, and so sleep’s critically important for young people — but I think it’s key that the parent explains why they might want the young person to stop at a certain time.’’
Bullying through social media was another concern, but there needed to be clear guidance from parents about how to deal with it.
‘‘It’s about modelling good behaviour. It’s about keeping those lines of communication open with young people and making sure that they know the reasons as to why you’re concerned about social media use.’’
