Kylie Lang: Why it’s time to change social media age limits to stem the rise of teen suicides

The greed that fuels social media behemoths stands in our way of change – but how many more parents have to bury their children?

• Campaign fighting to protect children like Ella

We’re told we can’t ban social media because it’s an intrinsic part of young people’s lives – and it’s too hard for parents to police.

But when children are suiciding because of the bullying and outright hatred that is permitted on these platforms then, surely, shutting down social media is necessary.

Get rid of it.

Sadly, the greed that fuels behemoths such as Meta – the owner of Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat – stands in our way.

These unregulated platforms will continue to exist as more and more parents bury their children.

The latest tragedy is Ella Catley-Crawford. She was 12.

She was an only child and her mother will carry unspeakable grief for the rest of her days.

When Ella was a student at Lourdes Hill College in Brisbane earlier this year, she allegedly became the victim of an online catfishing scheme orchestrated by girls who shared her photos on social media.

She experienced cruel isolation as her mental health deteriorated.

On October 27, the bright Year 7 student, who had been moved to Redlands College, attempted suicide. She died in hospital a week later.

It’s unfathomably sad and sickening.

Ella Catley-Crawford died in hospital. Picture: Supplied

Ella joins a frighteningly long list of young people who deserved so much better from this world.

It’s been said that the measure of a society is judged by how it protects its most vulnerable.

Australia, we need to do so much better.

We can’t throw our hands in the air and say it’s too hard and the horse has bolted while simultaneously thanking our lucky stars we had childhoods free from the scourge of social media.

Facebook came first, in 2004, Instagram followed in 2010 and Snapchat the year after.

Bullies have always existed but it’s incredible to think of the damage that these and other online platforms have been able to do in just two decades.

The Let Them Be Kids campaign, initiated by The Courier-Mail and rolled out across News Corp Australia mastheads, calls for children under 16 to be restricted from social media accounts.

It wants the age children can access them officially lifted from 13.

It’s a campaign that is not only gaining traction across the nation but also around the world as societies grapple with the negative outcomes of a media that is anything but “social”.

We must do everything we can to give our beautiful young people a fighting chance at life.