Social media ban in Australia

Today, a social media ban for people under 16 begins in Australia.

In Europe, Denmark, France, Spain, Norway, Italy, and Greece are leaning the same way

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In the US, the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) would create a similar ban. A bipartisan proposal, it is currently stalled in the House.

At a minimum, social media is a distraction for our teenagers. At its worst, it is a source of deep pain.

At an age when they are learning about peer-to-peer relationships, social media does not provide our teenagers with a meaningful way to engage and learn how to relate to peers. It is about performance, rather than knowing a person and learning how to deal with them. It takes time away from meaningful engagement.

These bans are a first step. Our work as parents and educators is to give our teenagers a way to engage meaningfully with each other and the world.

It is not difficult or exhausting work. It is about consciously setting the right stage and letting our teenagers play on it.

At this time, there is no social media ban in the US. Still, if we create the stage for our kids and they find better emotional and social nourishment there, social media and screens might become less important.

This is the work of our times.