Surgical precision

A scalpel not a hammer to address online harm for young people

Online safety of our young people critical

For those of us working to improve youth mental health and wellbeing, the online safety of our young people is a critical and growing concern. Online spaces are now deeply embedded in young people’s lives, and Aotearoa New Zealand has some of the highest rates of youth engagement in online spaces in the world. The issue has become ever more pressing in recent months, as the New Zealand Government considers a ban on social media use for under-16s.

Evidence first

While this is certainly an area that warrants close attention, there remains little robust evidence to show that age-based bans are effective. Young people are now growing up in a world where community building, peer support, and connection look very different from previous generations.

There is no quick fix to such a complex issue, so we must carefully and deliberately consider how to make online life safer. With Australia recently implementing a ban on social media for under-16s, and similar approaches emerging in France, Spain and the UK, Aotearoa New Zealand has a golden opportunity to learn from other jurisdictions before any legislative changes are implemented.

Listen up

Right now, we must also listen to the voices of those who would be most affected by such changes. Over the past three years, Te Hiringa Mahara has engaged extensively with rangatahi and young people to understand the drivers of their mental health and wellbeing, including their experiences online.

Through these engagements, three clear messages emerged: online safety is a key driver of wellbeing for young people; young people are digital experts who are already highly attuned to both the benefits and the harms that come with online spaces; and there is a resounding call for leaders to take meaningful action to improve online safety for all.

Balance

Overall, any solution must balance the benefits of being online while reducing the harms young people experience.

Research shows social media can, indeed, support mental wellbeing through enabling connection with friends, access to interest-based communities, and support during times of distress. Safe online spaces are then associated with reduced loneliness, lower levels of depression, and increased positive emotions. This is particularly true of young people experiencing crisis or isolation.

Of course, the harms of online spaces are well documented. Exposure to harmful content is linked to mental distress, anxiety, poor body image, and disordered eating. Cyberbullying, too, remains widespread.

These risks highlight where action is most needed:

regulating online platforms
bolstering content moderation
drastically improving digital literacy in schools and homes so young people and their whānau are equipped with the skills to safely navigate online spaces.

I must also stress that we cannot expect a ban on social media to reverse rising psychological distress without addressing wider social determinants of mental health.

Family violence, discrimination in all forms, social isolation, poverty and economic hardship all contribute to distress, which can in turn be exacerbated in unsafe online spaces.

Without a plan to also address drivers of distress, placing blame on social media is a much-oversimplified answer to a larger problem.

Further, blanket age bans risk being impractical, easy to bypass (especially for our digital natives), and difficult to enforce, potentially pushing young people into less safe corners of the internet.

Harm reduction

A more effective approach would centre harm reduction;

stronger regulation of social media companies
age-appropriate design
stringent algorithm oversight
proactive blocking of harmful content
accessible digital literacy education for young people, parents, and whānau.

This issue is too pressing and important for us to move ahead with solutions which lack evidence and do not meaningfully address the concerns of rangatahi and young people.

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