Young people must help shape the future of technology
South Australia’s Commissioner for Children and Young People, Dr Kylie Heneker, has today released a new report drawing on the experiences of 584 young South Australians aged 11-17 following the introduction of Australia’s social media minimum age reforms.
The Commissioner is calling for children and young people to be directly involved in future technology reform, including the Royal Commission into AI, so decisions affecting their lives reflect their experiences.
The report found that young people’s experiences of the recent social media ban varied considerably. While most reported little or no change to their daily routines, 13 per cent who lost access reported spending less time on social media. However, 37 per cent of young people who lost access described a negative impact on their wellbeing, compared with 11 per cent of those who retained access.
While the report examines Australia’s social media minimum age legislation, Dr Heneker said its implications extend well beyond the ban and demonstrate why future technology reform must account for young people’s diverse lives, circumstances and experiences.
“Children and young people are citizens now, not only in the future. They are in the ‘eye of the storm’ of significant technological change and if future reforms are done to and not with them, we will lose their unique perspectives and buy in,” Dr Heneker said.
“For some, losing access to social media accounts meant losing an important way of connecting with friends, family and support networks. Safety and connection are not competing priorities. Young people need safe places to connect online and offline, and they should help shape what comes next.”
Young people who participated in the two surveys and focus group recognised the risks associated with harmful content, cyberbullying, predatory behaviour and addictive design. They proposed stronger moderation and content filters, safer messaging, age-appropriate features, greater accountability for platforms and practical digital literacy education.
They also called for free or affordable, accessible and welcoming places to spend time with friends in person. Some described cost, distance, disability and mental health as barriers to meeting offline, while one in five respondents to the second survey reported finding new ways to connect online, including through gaming.
“One of the clearest messages from this work is that young people have thoughtful, practical ideas about how to make their online and offline worlds safer,” Dr Heneker said.
“They understand the tensions adults are trying to navigate. They know technology can connect, and that it can also manipulate, exclude and harm. They can identify problems adults may overlook and unintended consequences that policy processes may miss.”
“Connection is not a side issue; it is fundamental to young people’s wellbeing, belonging and healthy development. Creating safer environments where children and young people can connect and thrive is a shared responsibility. Governments, technology companies, families and communities all have important roles to play, but young people must be at the forefront, because their ideas can help us develop safer, fairer and more effective reforms.”
The Commissioner is calling for children and young people with diverse experiences to be directly involved in the design, implementation and evaluation of future technology and online safety reforms, alongside governments, regulators, technology companies, families and communities.
“Protecting children and listening to children are not competing ideas. Meaningful participation does not mean asking young people to carry responsibility for reform. It means drawing on their experience, testing ideas with them, explaining decisions and showing how their contributions have influenced the result,” Dr Heneker said.
“The release of this report should mark the beginning of a deeper conversation with young people about future technological reforms, not the end of one.”
The Commissioner has shared the report with the Australian and South Australian Governments and the eSafety Commissioner to help inform the ongoing implementation and evaluation of these and other reforms.
Read the full statement here
