Social media’s evils to be examined by parliamentary committee this week
The Albanese government’s parliamentary committee into the outsized influence and impact of social media in the lives of Australians will meet for the first time this week.
A 12-member Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society was established last month initially to examine Meta’s decision to walk away from the news bargaining code.
The committee, chaired by Federal Labor MP Kate Thwaites, will also look into the legalities and likelihood of raising the age of using social media platform to 16, as well as disinformation spread via the various platforms.
A campaign called 36 Months, the name representing the three years of crucial development between 13 and 16 that should be spent away from social media, has helped ignite debate over introducing age verification tools to social media, and restricting use to those under 16.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the age restrictions would be a “good way to go”, while Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has pledged to legislate this within the first 100 days of taking office – should such a thing occur.
Zoe Foster Blake, Jim Jefferies, and Michael “Wippa” Wipfli are among the high-profile Australians campaigning with 36 Months.
“I’m thankful I had no Instagram or TikTok or even a front-facing camera as a teen,” Foster Blake wrote on Instagram, alongside a photo of herself as a young teenager.
“Smartphones and social media are — surprise! — proven to be the cause of the skyrocketing rates of adolescent mood disorders like anxiety and depression, especially for girls.”
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Nathan Jolly is the Deputy Editor of Mumbrella. He joined the team in July, 2023.
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