1 00:00:07,133 --> 00:00:10,453 Speaker 1: You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Team podcast 2 00:00:10,613 --> 00:00:11,693 Speaker 1: from News Talks AB. 3 00:00:12,893 --> 00:00:16,613 Speaker 2: You know what, I'm a slave to social media and 4 00:00:16,693 --> 00:00:20,453 Speaker 2: it drives me nuts. Just I feel compelled to have 5 00:00:20,573 --> 00:00:23,933 Speaker 2: Twitter or x and I feel compelled to have Facebook 6 00:00:23,933 --> 00:00:27,813 Speaker 2: as well, mainly for work. I have Instagram for socializing, 7 00:00:28,133 --> 00:00:32,013 Speaker 2: and I wisely never touch TikTok because from all accounts, 8 00:00:32,093 --> 00:00:34,253 Speaker 2: that's the most addictive platform of the lot. But what 9 00:00:34,413 --> 00:00:39,093 Speaker 2: I have three active social media platforms, and I feel 10 00:00:39,093 --> 00:00:42,053 Speaker 2: like I have to battle to stop myself from reflexively 11 00:00:42,333 --> 00:00:45,413 Speaker 2: picking up my phone and checking the gram. So I 12 00:00:45,453 --> 00:00:48,213 Speaker 2: can only imagine how hard it is for the generations 13 00:00:48,613 --> 00:00:52,213 Speaker 2: who have never known a world without smartphones to try 14 00:00:52,253 --> 00:00:57,413 Speaker 2: and get off social media. It's addictive, right. Australia now 15 00:00:57,413 --> 00:00:59,413 Speaker 2: looks set to forward ahead with a ban on social 16 00:00:59,453 --> 00:01:01,893 Speaker 2: media for young people. The South Australian government is going 17 00:01:01,933 --> 00:01:03,893 Speaker 2: to ban it for kids under the age of fourteen 18 00:01:03,933 --> 00:01:07,413 Speaker 2: and put the onus on the platforms to use age 19 00:01:07,533 --> 00:01:11,853 Speaker 2: verification tools in making sure that younger kids aren't setting 20 00:01:11,933 --> 00:01:15,133 Speaker 2: up accounts. Fourteen and fifteen year olds will need to 21 00:01:15,133 --> 00:01:20,893 Speaker 2: get explicit parental permission to access the likes of Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, 22 00:01:20,933 --> 00:01:26,613 Speaker 2: and x But is that excessive? Is it too much? 23 00:01:27,293 --> 00:01:31,413 Speaker 2: Is social media really comparable to booze or tobacco? And 24 00:01:32,493 --> 00:01:35,493 Speaker 2: if it's causing harm, is it really the state's job 25 00:01:35,773 --> 00:01:40,173 Speaker 2: to step in? Is it government's job. I'm a huge 26 00:01:40,173 --> 00:01:43,613 Speaker 2: fan of the work of the US social psychologist Jonathan Hyte. 27 00:01:43,813 --> 00:01:46,653 Speaker 2: He's the author of The Coddling of the American Mind. 28 00:01:47,533 --> 00:01:51,773 Speaker 2: He says that over protection from parents and schools has 29 00:01:51,853 --> 00:01:55,813 Speaker 2: caused young people to be less resilient than in the past. Basically, 30 00:01:55,853 --> 00:01:58,373 Speaker 2: we have been coddling our young people too much. We've 31 00:01:58,373 --> 00:02:01,453 Speaker 2: been saying yes too much, and that as a result, 32 00:02:01,693 --> 00:02:03,853 Speaker 2: we have a generation of young people who are less 33 00:02:03,853 --> 00:02:08,773 Speaker 2: resilient personally. I think there's a lot in that I do, 34 00:02:09,093 --> 00:02:12,093 Speaker 2: but I also agree with him the lot of social 35 00:02:12,133 --> 00:02:16,973 Speaker 2: and psychological damage in young people stems directly from social media. 36 00:02:18,013 --> 00:02:20,973 Speaker 2: No phones until high school and keep kids off social 37 00:02:21,013 --> 00:02:24,453 Speaker 2: media until at least this until at least the age 38 00:02:24,453 --> 00:02:28,253 Speaker 2: of sixteen, Jonathan Hite says, don't you think it's crazy 39 00:02:28,333 --> 00:02:32,293 Speaker 2: that social media executives openly admit they refuse to let 40 00:02:32,373 --> 00:02:34,893 Speaker 2: their own kids use the platforms while claiming it's all 41 00:02:34,893 --> 00:02:39,333 Speaker 2: good for everyone else's. I personally supported the phone ban 42 00:02:39,493 --> 00:02:42,933 Speaker 2: in schools. I just think it's common sense. And in 43 00:02:42,973 --> 00:02:47,453 Speaker 2: a way this is the same because it's a collective 44 00:02:47,493 --> 00:02:50,453 Speaker 2: action problem. Right. So at the moment, parents know that 45 00:02:50,493 --> 00:02:52,373 Speaker 2: if they let their kid on social media at a 46 00:02:52,373 --> 00:02:55,933 Speaker 2: young age, even at thirteen, which is the stated age 47 00:02:55,973 --> 00:02:59,973 Speaker 2: limit for many of the platforms, it is potentially doing 48 00:03:00,013 --> 00:03:03,573 Speaker 2: them harm or contributing to harm in their social groups. 49 00:03:04,533 --> 00:03:08,533 Speaker 2: But if they deny their kid any social media platforms, 50 00:03:08,893 --> 00:03:11,453 Speaker 2: parents often feel that the child runs the risk of 51 00:03:11,493 --> 00:03:16,333 Speaker 2: being socially ostracized. And look, it's easy to say this 52 00:03:16,373 --> 00:03:18,853 Speaker 2: now given our boys only seven, but I would like 53 00:03:18,893 --> 00:03:22,493 Speaker 2: to think that if in the future it's a binary 54 00:03:22,573 --> 00:03:25,813 Speaker 2: choice between letting him access social media when he's really 55 00:03:25,813 --> 00:03:31,013 Speaker 2: young or supporting him if he gets stick because lots 56 00:03:31,053 --> 00:03:33,893 Speaker 2: of his classmates are online and he's not allowed to be, well, 57 00:03:33,933 --> 00:03:37,253 Speaker 2: I would still take the latter option. Maybe I'm just 58 00:03:37,613 --> 00:03:39,893 Speaker 2: maybe I'm a bit of old school. I'm a bit strict, right, 59 00:03:40,013 --> 00:03:42,293 Speaker 2: I would still say, sorry, it doesn't matter if all 60 00:03:42,293 --> 00:03:45,533 Speaker 2: your mates are on there, you're not getting social media. 61 00:03:45,613 --> 00:03:48,653 Speaker 2: But the thing about regulation is that if the government 62 00:03:48,693 --> 00:03:51,533 Speaker 2: stepped in, it would mean there is a collective standard, 63 00:03:51,853 --> 00:03:55,333 Speaker 2: the same rules for everyone, right across the board. And 64 00:03:55,413 --> 00:03:58,613 Speaker 2: if we can agree that an unregulated system for social 65 00:03:58,653 --> 00:04:03,013 Speaker 2: media is doing our kids harm, well, perhaps it is 66 00:04:03,053 --> 00:04:04,853 Speaker 2: time to consider something different. 67 00:04:05,573 --> 00:04:08,653 Speaker 1: For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live 68 00:04:08,773 --> 00:04:11,573 Speaker 1: to news Talks at B from nine am Saturday, or 69 00:04:11,653 --> 00:04:13,533 Speaker 1: follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.