Youth Liberation Day in Australia…or maybe not
I’ll keep this brief — no need to beat a dead horse.
Australia has officially banned social media for under-16s. So finally, no more social-media for under 16s! Well…except for the platforms that aren’t banned where young people have flocked to already - but we can ignore that for now.
From today, the vaguely defined “harms of social media” are apparently solved, and a new era of youth emotional wellbeing has dawned 🥳. Well...unless, of course, the real causes of mental health challenges run far deeper than what teenagers see online - but we can ignore that too.
Oh, and Aussie parents can finally say “no” to their young ones because the government has said it first!
Excellent news! 🥳 Can’t wait for legislation on eating all your vegetables to come through soon.
Jokes and sassy sarcasm aside, this moment gives us a real opportunity to learn.
We’re grateful to be playing a constructive role in ensuring New Zealand takes a more thoughtful path.
You’ve seen our proposed solutions.
You’ve read our position on adopting an Australia-style ban.
You’ve read the articles that raise serious concerns about the assumptions behind Australia’s move.
Yet, one of many crucial questions remains unanswered for Australians: How will we know if this policy is successful?
What are the measures of success and failure? Good policy needs an answer to such a question.
Or, is the feeling of having advocated for a virtuous cause and passed a symbolic bill enough success in itself?
As we watch Australia over the coming months - hold onto this question: How will we know if they’ve succeeded?
When harms are ill-defined and problems are loosely described, the solutions become blunt and symbolic. Success becomes impossible to measure.
Much worse even...gross failure becomes hard to measure too.
So, let’s watch closely together.
