Ensuring the safety of our children online

There will no doubt be a range of views in our community – as there is on any issue – on the federal government’s social media ban for under-16s that takes effect this week.

There is no one solution to ensuring the safety of our children online. The internet is a mammoth entity with dangers lurking in all corners.

All too often we read tragic stories of teens bullied into taking their own lives. Predators await in the shadows, infiltrating platforms such as Roblox. Social media is rife with inappropriate or violent content. Teens see post after post about body image which harms their self-esteem. Propaganda promoting extremist ideologies is rampant.

Indeed, the mind-numbing monotony of hearing our kids repeatedly yelling “sixxx-sevennn” (IYKYK) is the least of our worries.

Will the government’s social media ban make it all go away? Of course not. But supporters argue the legislation is less a ban than a circuit-breaker.

Clinical psychologist Tamara Kezelman describes it as a delay that gives children time to develop identity, relationships and resilience before entering an online world that is often harmful and overwhelming.

Amy Friedlander, co-founder of parent-led initiative Wait Mate, says the law sends a clear signal that social media platforms are not designed with children’s wellbeing in mind.

She argues that the change gives families confidence to hold boundaries that were previously near impossible to enforce.

Additionally, for our community there is an added element to this debate. With social media as saturated as it is with vitriol directed at Israel and Jews, the wellbeing of our children is under assault from an extra direction not experienced by mainstream Australia.

An October report from the Online Hate Prevention Institute found antisemitism has reached near-record levels on social media, with conspiracy theories, dehumanising of Jews, October 7 denial and Nazi glorification just some of the examples.

An older child may be more educated to know truth from lies and importantly better emotionally equipped to encounter such toxicity.

The ban will not solve everything, but giving our children more time to grow before plunging them into the worst corners of the online world might just be a safeguard worth trying.