Minister Tanya Plibersek talks about social media ban on Mental As Anyone podcast

A senior federal minister has spoken about how kids’ use of social media can give them a warped view on sex.

A senior federal minister has spoken of her concerns about how social media will impact the future sex lives of Australians in the wake of the world-leading age ban.

Commending News Corp’s Let Them Be Kids campaign, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has been a strong advocate for setting an age limit of 16 for social media use to protect Australian children.

“I’m not a prude, but I reckon if kids are watching choking and [violent] sex before they’ve had their first kiss with a real human being, that is going to impact what they think a healthy sexual or romantic relationship looks like and I’m worried about that,” Ms Plibersek said in the latest episode of the Mental As Anyone podcast.

Federal Minister Tanya Plibersek recording the Mental As Anyone podcast. Picture: Christian Gilles

“What people do when they’re adults is one thing, but raising a generation to think that unless sex is violent and degrading, it’s not exciting, is really problematic.”

The Australian government recently passed world-leading legislation that will see teenagers restricted from accessing social media under the age of 16.

Details on how that will be achieved are yet to be revealed.

The move has been overwhelmingly supported although proprietors of the major social media offerings have pushed back.

“And so I think the kind of California ‘tech bros’ who pretend this is all about freedom of expression, and that if governments are trying to limit what the internet does, that it’s somehow censorship,” Plibersek continued.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with Tanya Plibersek. Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

“I just think that’s complete financial self interest talking, that’s not about freedom of speech. “They control the algorithms. It’s not an equal platform for every idea. What’s prioritised are things that are sensational and shocking, and that gives us a false idea of how much conflict there is in the community as well.”

Tanya Plibersek and Michael Coutts-Trotter. Picture: Justin Lloyd

The mother-of-three agreed social media has some positives, like connecting those in minority communities or people living in remote areas.

“At the moment, I’m really worried that the negative impacts that it’s having are really outweighing those positive impacts, and I’m particularly worried about the impact that it’s having on sex and gender relations.”

Elsewhere in the Mental As Anyone interview, Ms Plibersek, 55, said that in a high pressure job like hers, she tries to find balance by being healthy.

Federal Minister Tanya Plibersek recording the Mental As Anyone podcast with Jonathon Moran. Photographer: Christian Gilles.

Those struggling, she said, should seek help.

“Look in those really hard times in my life, like after my brother died, I definitely went and had professional counselling and I would urge anybody who’s in a situation like that, a crisis in their life, to seek professional help if they can,” she said, referencing the murder of her brother Phillip in a home invasion in Port Moresby in 1997.

* A new episode of Mental As Anyone will drop on Thursday.