As a sociologist of technology and educator focused on digital literacy, I’ve spent years working with research on the complex relationship between young people and social media. Recently, I found myself in an online discussion that exemplifies a troubling pattern in how we debate digital policy issues in Australia.

After sharing peer-reviewed research showing that while some correlations exist between social media use and mental health outcomes, there’s limited evidence supporting a causal relationship where social media directly causes poor mental health or reduced wellbeing. I was quickly labeled as someone “shilling” for “Big Tech,” with my evidence-based positions dismissed as “talking points”.

Research points to how individuals with existing mental health challenges may gravitate toward certain types of social media use, rather than social media itself being the primary cause of these challenges. This important distinction highlights how nuanced research gets flattened into simplistic positions when policy discussions become emotionally charged.

The False Binary: Protect Kids or Support Big Tech

The current discourse around Australia’s social media age ban has created a false dichotomy: either you support sweeping restrictions or you’re somehow against protecting children. This reductive framing leaves no room for evidence-based approaches that aim to both protect young people and preserve their digital agency.

When I cite studies showing that social media use accounts for only 0.4% of the variance in well-being – findings published in reputable journals – these aren’t “industry talking points”. They’re research conclusions reached through rigorous methodology and peer review. As noted in a recent Nature article, the evidence linking social media use to mental health issues is far more equivocal than public discourse suggests.

Just look at what the research actually says: “An analysis of 3 data sets, including 355,000 adolescents, found that the association between social media use and well-being accounts for, at most, 0.4% of the variance in well-being, which the authors conclude is of ‘little practical value’. Another large study of adolescent users concluded that the association was ‘too small to merit substantial scientific discussion’. A longitudinal study that measured social media use through an app installed on participants’ mobile devices found no associations between any measures of Facebook use and loneliness or depression over time.”

The current push for age bans in Australia reveals concerning patterns in how policy is developed. Australian researchers have pointed out that much of the momentum behind these restrictions can be traced directly to Jonathan Haidt’s book “The Anxious Generation,” which has become influential despite its claims being disputed by experts at prestigious institutions like the London School of Economics. As Dr. Aleesha Rodriguez from the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child has observed, books that capitalise on parental anxieties should not drive national policy decisions, especially when they bypass evidence-based approaches and committee recommendations. The government’s announcement of social media age restrictions came before the Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society even issued its interim report, raising questions about the role of evidence in this policy development process. You’ll see that the final report came out on the 18th November 2024 and it did not recommend the implementation of age bans.

The Power of Emotional Appeals vs. Research Findings

But in our current climate, sharing such research and insights is met with accusations of being “in the pockets of Big Tech” or having “industry interference” – rhetorical devices designed to discredit without engaging with the substance of the evidence. This pattern of discourse relies heavily on emotional appeals and anecdotes to overwhelm research findings. “Children’s wellbeing (and lives) are at stake,” advocates declare, implying that questioning the effectiveness of age bans is equivalent to devaluing children’s safety.

These emotional appeals are powerful because they tap into genuine parental anxieties. In their public communications, advocates may employ evocative language (“stranglehold,” “insidious,” “shame on them all”) and frame the debate as a moral binary: either you support age bans or you’re effectively siding with “Big Tech” against children’s interests. This rhetorical approach creates a false dichotomy where nuanced research positions are dismissed as “industry talking points” without engaging with the substance of the evidence.

By contrast, research on children’s digital experiences draws on diverse empirical methods—including large-scale surveys, in-depth qualitative studies, longitudinal tracking, and co-design work with children themselves. This comprehensive approach captures a wide range of social experiences across different demographics and contexts. Such research undergoes rigorous peer review, requiring methodological transparency and critical evaluation before publication.

Importantly, the research landscape itself contains diverse perspectives and interpretations. Even within academic disciplines studying digital youth, researchers may disagree about the significance of findings, methodological approaches, and policy implications. Some researchers emphasise potential harms and advocate for stronger protections, while others highlight benefits and concerns about digital exclusion. This diversity of expert opinion reflects the complex nature of children’s digital engagement rather than undermining the value of research-informed approaches.

What most researchers do agree on is that the evidence doesn’t support simplistic narratives. The findings indicate that while correlations exist between social media use and well-being, many other factors play more significant roles, and the relationships are often bidirectional and context-dependent.

Policy decisions affecting millions of young Australians deserve more than anxiety-driven responses – they require careful consideration of evidence, unintended consequences, and alternative approaches that address both the genuine concerns of parents and the established digital rights of children.

When Nuance Gets Lost: The Digital Duty of Care Example

The irony is that I and many researchers share the same core concern as advocates: we want digital environments that are safer for young people. Where we differ is in how to achieve this goal effectively.

Australia’s Digital Duty of Care bill proposal, which has received far less media attention than the age ban, represents a more evidence-based approach to improving online safety. You can also see its much slower movement through parliament. It focuses on making platforms safer by design rather than simply restricting access.

This legislation, developed through extensive consultation and aligned with comparable measures in the UK and EU, places responsibility on platforms to proactively prevent online harms. Yet because it lacks the emotional appeal of “keeping kids off social media”, it hasn’t captured public imagination in the same way.

I support making digital environments safer for young people. Following the intention of this policy, research suggests this is better accomplished through platform design requirements, digital literacy education, and appropriate safeguards rather than blanket age bans that may create unintended consequences.

The Overlooked Complexities

Lost in the simplified discourse are crucial considerations that research brings to light:

1. Digital equity concerns: Age restrictions disproportionately impact young people in regional and remote areas who rely on social media for educational resources and social connection.
2. Support for marginalised youth: For many LGBTQI+ young people and others who feel isolated in their physical communities, online spaces provide crucial support networks.
3. Technical realities: The age verification technologies being proposed have significant technical limitations, with biometric age estimation showing concerning accuracy gaps for young teenagers and disparities across demographic groups.
4. Platform compliance challenges: As we’ve seen with Meta’s pushback against EU regulations, we can’t assume platforms will simply comply with national regulations they see as burdensome for smaller markets.
5. Educational implications: Schools face significant challenges in navigating restrictions that could inadvertently disrupt established educational practices that use social media platforms.

These complexities matter, not because they invalidate safety concerns, but because addressing them is essential to developing effective policy that truly serves young people’s interests.

Unintended Consequences of Age Verification Systems

A significant oversight in the age ban debate is how age verification technologies will inevitably impact all users—not just children. The government’s Age Assurance Technology Trial, while focused on “evaluating the effectiveness, maturity, and readiness” of these technologies, does not adequately address the far-reaching implications for adult digital access.

These systems, once implemented, create barriers for everyone—not just children. Adults who lack standard government-issued ID, have limited digital literacy, use shared devices, or have privacy concerns may find themselves effectively locked out of digital spaces. This particularly affects already marginalised groups: elderly people, rural and remote communities, people with disabilities, individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, and those with non-traditional documentation.

Age verification systems that rely on biometric data, ID scanning, or credit card verification raise serious privacy concerns that extend well beyond children’s safety. Once these surveillance infrastructures are established for “protecting children,” they create permanent digital checkpoints that normalise identity verification for increasingly basic online activities. The same parents advocating for these protections may not anticipate how these systems will affect their own digital autonomy and privacy.

Moreover, the technical limitations of age verification technologies create a false sense of security. Current systems struggle with accuracy, particularly for users with certain disabilities, those from diverse ethnic backgrounds, or individuals whose appearance doesn’t match algorithmic expectations. Rather than creating safe digital environments through design and platform responsibility, age verification shifts the burden to individual users while potentially exposing their sensitive personal data to additional security risks.

Children’s Rights in the Digital Environment

What’s frequently missing from this debate is recognition of children’s established rights in digital spaces. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child’s General Comment No. 25 (2021) specifically addresses children’s rights in relation to the digital environment. This authoritative interpretation clarifies that children have legitimate rights to:

• Access information and express themselves online (Articles 13 and 17)
• Privacy and protection of their data (Article 16)
• Freedom of association and peaceful assembly in digital spaces (Article 15)
• Participation in cultural life and play through digital means (Article 31)
• Education that includes digital literacy (Article 28)

The UN framework emphasises that the digital environment “affords new opportunities for the realization of children’s rights” while acknowledging the need for appropriate protections. It specifically notes that children themselves report that digital technologies are “vital to their current lives and to their future.”

This rights-based framework fundamentally challenges the premise that children should simply be excluded from digital spaces until they reach an arbitrary age threshold. Instead, it calls for balancing protection with participation and recognising children’s evolving capacities.

The Australian context

In Australia, the digital rights of children are recognised and protected, encompassing privacy, safety, and access to information, with organisations like the eSafety Commissioner and the Alannah & Madeline Foundation playing key roles in advocacy and research. 

Here’s a more detailed breakdown of the digital rights of children in Australia:

Key Rights and Protections: 

• Privacy: Children have the right to privacy in the digital environment, which is protected by the Privacy Act 1988. 
• Safety: The eSafety Commissioner works to protect children from online harms like cyberbullying, grooming, and exposure to harmful content. 
• Access to Information: Children have the right to access reliable and age-appropriate information online. 
• Freedom of Expression: Children have the right to express themselves online, but this right must be balanced with the need to protect them from harm. 
• Participation: Children have the right to participate in online activities and to have their views heard, especially in matters that affect them. 

Relevant Organisations and Initiatives: 

• eSafety Commissioner: This government agency is responsible for promoting online safety and protecting children from online harms. 
• Alannah & Madeline Foundation: This organisation advocates for children’s rights online and works to create a safer online environment for children. 
• Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child: This research centre focuses on creating positive digital childhoods for all Australian children. 
• UNCRC General Comment No. 25: This document outlines the rights of the child in relation to the digital environment and provides guidance for governments and other actors. 
• The Digital Child: A research and advocacy organisation focused on children’s digital rights and wellbeing. 
• UNICEF Australia: Collaborates with the Digital Child centre to promote digital wellbeing for young children. 
• Digital Rights Watch: An organization that works to ensure fairness, freedoms and fundamental rights for all people who engage in the digital world. 

Key Issues and Challenges: 

• Online Safety: Protecting children from online harms like cyberbullying, grooming, and exposure to harmful content is a major concern. 
• Privacy: Balancing the need to protect children’s privacy with the need for parents and caregivers to monitor their online activity is a complex issue. 
• Age Verification: Ensuring that children are not exposed to age-inappropriate content and that they 
  are not targeted by online services is important. 
• Misinformation and Disinformation: Children are vulnerable to misinformation and disinformation online, and it’s important to equip them with the skills to identify and avoid it. 
• Technology-Facilitated Abuse: Children can be victims of technology-facilitated abuse (TFA) in the context of domestic and family violence, and it’s important to address this issue. 
• Parental Rights vs. Children’s Privacy: The extent to which parents can monitor their children’s online activity is a complex issue with legal implications. 
• Digital Literacy: It’s important to support digital literacy initiatives that encourage and empower children to take further responsibility for their online safety. 

Alternative Approaches: A Better Children’s Internet
Australian researchers are offering a more constructive approach to online safety than blanket age restrictions. In a timely article, researchers from the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child explain that while they understand the concerns motivating the Australian Government’s decision to ban children under 16 from creating social media accounts, they believe this approach “undermines the reality that children are growing up in a digital world”.
They have developed a “Manifesto for a Better Children’s Internet” that acknowledges both the benefits and risks of digital engagement while focusing on practical improvements. They argue that “rather than banning young people’s access to social media platforms, the Australian Government should invest, both financially and socially, in developing Australia’s capacity as a global leader in producing and supporting high-quality online products and services for children and young people.”

Their framework includes several key recommendations:

Standards for high-quality digital experiences – Developing clear quality standards for digital products and services aimed at children, with input from multiple stakeholders including children themselves.
Slow design and consultation with children – Involving children and families in the design process rather than using them as “testing markets” for products and services.
Child-centered regulation and policy – Creating appropriate “guardrails” through regulatory guidelines developed with input from children, carers, families, educators and experts.
Media literacy policy and programs – Investing in media literacy education for both children and parents to develop the skills needed to navigate digital environments safely and productively.

This approach acknowledges that the internet “has enhanced children’s lives in many ways” while recognising it “was not designed with children in mind.” Rather than simply restricting access, it focuses on redesigning digital spaces to better serve young people’s needs and respecting their agency in the process.
This framework offers a promising middle path between unrestricted access and blanket prohibitions, focusing on improvement rather than exclusion.

Moving Forward: Good faith engagement

What would a more productive discourse look like? Rather than dividing positions into “protectors of children” versus “Big Tech shills,” we need approaches that:

• Recognise children’s established rights: Digital policy should acknowledge children’s legitimate rights to information, expression, association, privacy, and participation as articulated in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
• Engage with the full evidence base: This includes both research on potential harms and studies showing limited correlations or positive benefits, with a commitment to understanding the methodological strengths and limitations of different studies.
• Center young people’s voices: The young people affected by these policies have valuable perspectives that deserve genuine consideration, not dismissal as naive or manipulated.
• Acknowledge trade-offs: Every policy approach involves trade-offs between protection, privacy, and participation rights. Pretending otherwise doesn’t serve anyone.
• Focus on effective solutions: Research suggests a combination of platform design improvements, digital literacy education, and more nuanced moderation systems may be more effective than simply setting age limits.
• Maintain good faith dialogue: Rather than using emotional appeals and moral accusations to shut down debate, all participants should approach these discussions with the genuine belief that others share the concern for children’s wellbeing, even when they disagree about methods.

This approach would move us beyond simplistic binaries and rhetorical tactics toward policies that genuinely serve children’s best interests in all their complexity.

I remain committed to research-informed approaches to making digital spaces safer for young people. This doesn’t mean blindly defending the status quo, but rather advocating for solutions that address the real complexities of young people’s digital lives while respecting their established rights.

The Digital Duty of Care legislation offers a promising framework that places responsibility on platforms to make their services safer for all users through design choices, risk assessment, and mitigation strategies. Combined with robust digital literacy education and appropriate parental controls, this represents a more comprehensive approach than age restrictions alone.

As the social media landscape continues to evolve, maintaining evidence-based discourse matters more than ever. Dismissing research as “talking points” doesn’t advance the conversation – it closes it down just when we need it most.

Young Australians deserve digital policies crafted through careful consideration of evidence, informed by young people’s perspectives, and grounded in their established rights. That’s not a “Big Tech talking point” – it’s responsible, ethical policymaking that centres the needs and interests of the very people these policies aim to serve.