‘A total nightmare’: The parents who are rejoicing over social media ban

Anita Comyn regrets giving her eldest son a mobile phone so soon.

The device was meant to provide an additional layer of safety for the 12-year-old when he caught the bus home from school.

Anita Comyn gave her eldest son a phone but is resisting giving her 12-year-old a phone because of the negative impact of social media.Credit: Wolter Peeters

“He was in year 6 and we had safety concerns. But the reality is they don’t actually need it,” she said.

“We have lost control of the phone … It is just so addictive. My eldest son’s phone you will hear the Snapchat ping going all the time. It is constant – they’re not doing other things like schoolwork or socialising.

“It has been a total nightmare from the time we gave our eldest a mobile phone.”

So when the government stepped in and said they would make it illegal for teens to use social media, despite not specifying what age the law would apply to, she welcomed the move.

“Sixteen would be amazing. You can just say: ‘You can’t have it’,” she said.

Some university academics on Tuesday criticised the government’s plan, describing it as reckless, not based on evidence, with one saying it infringed on the rights of teenagers as digital citizens.

But parents this masthead spoke to said they didn’t need a study to see the damage that hours a day spent on devices was causing.

Shannon O’Donovan also gave her 12-year-old son a phone for the school bus in the name of safety.

“It really hit home when we left his devices at home when we went overseas and just how much more outgoing he is,” she said.

She has restricted what social media apps he uses but says a government ban would make it easier to say no.

“I told him he couldn’t have Snapchat and he asked if he could have TikTok, and I was the worst mother in the world,” she said.

Anita McSweeney, who wrote a book called Macy’s First Phone about digital device addiction, said she believed the move had the potential to improve academic outcomes because it could shift the dial on concentration and sleep deprivation.

“The government has a situation where students are coming to school are distracted, overstimulated with hedonistic content, and they’re waiting to be entertained,” she said.

Mariana Papa and her daughter Bianca Papa. She believes a social media ban would mean her daughter would not be able to connect with her peers in the dance world.

Mariana Papa runs the Instagram account for her daughter Bianca, 12, who has used it to get work in the performing arts. Bianca has 5000 followers on Instagram and her mother believes it has helped her connect with other dancers.

“I think a ban makes no sense,” she said. “The dance world has a lot of people on Instagram … It can be really nice, and it would be really sad if they banned it.”

Amy Friedlander, a co-founder of Wait Mate, a website that unites parents who do not want to give their children a smartphone at least until they are in high school, said it would not stop everyone, but would be effective.

“Schools need to support parents and government can help these efforts by giving air coverage by sending a strong signal to tech companies and families, in saying this tech is not appropriate for kids,” she said.

“Just as people have managed to get [into bars] with fake IDs, it is never going to be foolproof.”

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