NSW-SA summit to examine how social media exposure harms children

An overwhelming majority of parents are desperately trying to enforce restrictions on social media to keep their children safe, a shock survey has revealed.

Almost every parent in NSW is trying to enforce some version of social media restriction amid rampant fears of cyber bullying, a secret survey by the Minns government has found.

Conducted in June, the departmental survey into child online safety found 93 per cent of parents asked were restricting either app access or internet usage, or enforcing total social media bans to protect children.

The results come ahead of a joint NSW-SA summit into the harms social media poses to children, with Premier Chris Minns warning social media companies were “on the hook”.

“For me, it’s so clear every piece of evidence suggests that really troubling rates of health of young people, particularly mental health, have gone down since the widespread use of social media and Facebook began in 2010,” he said.

“I don’t want to put the cart before the horse. We’re having a social media summit and we’ll hear from experts from around Australia and the world. But doing nothing is not an option. And the social media companies will be on the hook too, because parents and governments alike are at their wits’ end grappling with these harmful effects.”

NSW Premier Chris Minns says the research is clear about harmful effects of social media for youngsters. Picture: Nikki Short

Mr Minns is closely monitoring developments in Canada and Florida, where laws restricting teen social media access were passed earlier this year.

In a win for News Corp’s Let Them Be Kids campaign, Mr Minns and SA Premier Peter Malinauskas will convene the summit to determine ways to reduce the harm posed by social media.

News Corp’s Let Them Be Kids campaign is pushing for restrictions on teenagers accessing social media. 

The Department of Community Services survey found parents of primary school-aged children held the greatest fears about the online safety of their children, with 84 per cent declaring they were “extremely/quite” concerned.

It said 93 per cent were taking steps to try to protect their children by banning social media, restricting apps or requiring internet use to occur in common areas of the home.

Parents of children aged 13-17 were similarly worried, with 63 per cent declaring they were extremely or quite concerned about online safety.

More than half of the families who participated in the survey indicated they wanted to receive information about child online safety from school, with a similar amount wanting advice from the NSW government.

Welcoming the NSW-SA summit, News Corp Australasia chairman Michael Miller said: “The harrowing stories parents have shared through the Let Them Be Kids campaign in our newspapers are part of a global groundswell that must lead to action.

“The premiers’ leadership and summit gives important momentum to the drive to tackle head on the toll social media companies are taking.”

Dany and Cynthia Elachi, pictured with their 14-year-old daughter Aalia, believe children should not have access to social media. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Other topics nominated by parents surveyed included how to protect personal information, identifying/avoiding people who may have “bad intentions”, scams and phishing attempts, and age-appropriate content that children can access.

Information on cyber-bullying was the most sought after in every age group.

Among those attending the summit will be father-of-five Dany Elachi, who has been raising his concerns about children’s access to social media with Mr Minns for several years.

Mr Elachi, who with other concerned local parents established The Heads Up Alliance to lobby for change, said he believed children under 18 should not have access to social media.

“I’ve got five kids – seven to 14 years,” he said. “When my daughter was 10, she wanted a phone so my wife and I gave her one, but we quickly saw how it took over her life.

“She was not sleeping, it was impossible to get her out of her room. She was like 10-11. At midnight, we’d find her under the covers messaging.

“I don’t think social media is appropriate for any children under 18, but I’m not knocking it being raised to 16. Even though it’s not 18, we are still in support of that.

“It’s not just content, it’s the bullying, the sexual predation and the fact that kids are spending on average around nine hours a day online.

“It is blocking so much of their childhood. They are not reading, forming relationships.”

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