Key Points
- Jurisdictions across Australia have begun introducing mobile phone bans in recent years.
- Most social media sites allow users to sign up at 13, but some parents say the minimum age should be increased.
- Experts say education, barriers, and communication are key to safe social media use amongst young people.
Social media and smartphones have become an integral aspect of modern life, but when is the appropriate age to start using them?
Many social media platforms - including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok - allow users to sign up from the age of 13, and some critics say the age should be raised.
Now, state and territory governments are implementing bans and restrictions on smartphones, while parents attempt to moderate their children's access and exposure to social media.
So how young is "too young", why are schools banning smartphones, and how can young people safely use social media?
'Negatives outweigh positives'
Sydney father Dany Elachi is hoping to keep his children - who are aged between five and 13 - away from social media for as long as possible.
Mr Elachi and his wife Cynthia co-founded the Heads Up Alliance, a community of Australian families who are delaying social media and smartphones for their children until after they finish year eight.
Their children have access to technology, play with iPads and have laptops which are required for schooling but do not have their own smartphones or social media accounts.
Dany and Cynthia Elachi founded the Heads Up Alliance, a community of Australian families who are delaying social media and smartphones for children. Source: Supplied / Dany Elachi
"Social media is designed to be addictive ... we know predators spend a lot of time on social media, we know social media and smartphones keep a lot of children up at night, and by virtue of the fact that it takes so much of their time, (kids) aren't doing other things like reading or nurturing relationships with their families."
Mr Elachi said more education about social media safety and risks in schools is needed, as well as higher age requirements implemented by social media platforms.
"We are definitely in favour of education ... in fact, we think there should be more education surrounding these issues, because it is part of our lives and we have to be as ready as possible for it all," he said.
"We think that a better age is probably 15 or 16, the longer you can hold out the better."
Should schools ban phones?
In recent years, jurisdictions across Australia have begun introducing bans and restrictions on smartphone use.
From the start of term one, a mobile phone ban will begin rolling out across South Australian high schools in an effort to improve focus and cut bullying and harassment.
Similar restrictions will also be rolled out across public schools in the Northern Territory. In 2020, Victoria, Western Australia and Tasmania all introduced bans.
Educators and lawmakers have cited phones as being distracting, and exacerbating bullying and mental health issues among students.
Patrick Thomas, Western Australia's state manager for cybersafety education provider ySafe, told SBS News that blanket bans are not always the key to solving social media issues.
"I do understand that banning is sometimes necessary, but we have to consider context every single time," he said.
"It's very difficult to do a blanket approach, and that's where education is so great - we have to consider access to phones, games, screens in general, we need to consider boundaries, and communication."
Mr Elachi and the Heads Up Alliance have been lobbying for restricted access to phones in schools, with students only having devices if they are required for lessons or needed in a medical situation.
"The primary position is no phones but if a teacher says they're needed for a particular lesson, nobody is against that, but in all other cases we think phones should be put away and out of sight," he said.
Extremism and conspiracies on social media
Simon Copland recently completed a PhD at the Australian National University in the school of sociology, with a focus on men's rights groups and far-right extremism on social media.
"Social media provides a place for people to come together and meet people they might not normally encounter, so if you're a disaffected young person ... you can go online and find almost any community and any explanation for why you're facing the struggles you might be facing," he said.
"Far-right communities provide what feels like a welcoming space, and it's more likely you might end up in those places online than you would physically."
Dr Copland says while young people are not inherently more susceptible to extremist content, there are certain extremist groups and creators who specifically target youth.
"I wouldn't say (teenagers) are particularly vulnerable ... but there are particular far-right people and groups who deliberately target young people and who do so quite cleverly," he said.
"What we're seeing is a trend in which leaders try and promote the far-right as being transgressive, as being the new punk, or the new cool 'it' thing, and that certainly appeals to a lot of younger people."
Education and boundaries 'crucial'
When it comes to an appropriate time to start using social media, Mr Thomas says there is not necessarily a clear age, and depends on each individual child's social and emotional development.
"Between 10 and 13, some kids might not be interested, and some might be socially and emotionally more developed, so it's an engaging space for them," he said.
"I wouldn't advise giving a young child a phone, but I would start giving them access to a family device."
Mr Thomas said giving children appropriate access, boundaries, and communication from a young age can foster healthy relationships with technology and social media.
"The more we can talk about issues freely at home, the more we normalise the risks (of being) online and talk about sexting, or nudes, or cyberbullying, or predatory behaviour ... the more we openly talk about that, the more young people feel comfortable," he said.
"Boundaries and controlling access is just as important."
