Two decades into this global social media experiment and we cannot ignore the harm – Editorial
We are now about two decades into this global social media experiment.
None of us knew how the new technology would be used and how it would then change the world when the first platforms began to emerge.
Many hoped it would be a net force for good, helping to democratise the internet, give a voice to the voiceless, and greater access to the vast swathes of information on the web.
We all saw some immediate benefits, like being more connected with family and friends in different time zones. We also saw how it could quickly help grow small businesses or be used to raise awareness on a specific issue in our communities.
But we have now come to a point where the majority of us believe social media does more harm than good.
These social media platforms are now in the business of selling addiction.
The worst part about this is we recognise our children and grandchildren are the ones most at risk.
Over the past few weeks, the Herald’s online video series, Under the Influence, has explored this problem.
Through your letters, comments and messages, we know the social media problem is something our readers care about deeply and are highly engaged with trying to solve.
In the final episode of Under the Influence, director-producer Nadia Maxwell travelled to Australia and talked with Robb Evans, whose daughter, Liv Evans, took her life at 15.
It was a tragic tale that sadly has become far too common in our schools and communities. Evans said his daughter had developed an eating disorder after being bullied at school – but then social media magnified it and made the problem so much worse.
Australia has been the first country to try to grapple with the problem of social media harm.
They turned to the law and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese introduced and passed world-first legislation in eight days to ban under-16s from using social media.
It has not been a resounding success, with reports that both children and the social media companies have found ways to exploit gaps in the legislation and technology.
Despite this, it has inspired similar moves in Britain and possibly New Zealand.
Our Government has been exploring social media legislation for the past 14 months.
This week it emerged that Education Minister Erica Stanford had circulated a paper to colleagues about the best way to implement a ban.
As was reported on the front page of yesterday’s Herald, National is also looking to Labour to help pass any potential social media ban for under-16-year-olds.
Support from National’s two coalition partners is becoming more unlikely, with both raising concerns about possible restrictions on VPNs or introducing digital IDs to implement it.
Stanford, who said she was not considering digital IDs or VPN restrictions, did confirm she and officials had been meeting with Labour MPs to discuss cross-party support.
“I have been willing to speak to any party that shares our goal to back parents and protect children from the harms of big tech,” Stanford said.
Whether a potential future ban works, or partially works like it has in Australia, we have finally come to the realisation that something must be done to protect our children. It will likely still take years before an adequate solution is found.
Sadly, much damage will have been done to a generation who will never know of a world without social media.
The risks and negative consequences of social media may have been unforeseen two decades ago, but we would be stupid to ignore the lesson it can provide for handing technology to children with greater care as we hurtle into the AI age.
You can watch all the episodes of our Under the Influence series at nzherald.co.nz/undertheinfluence