Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he would introduce a minimum age law for social media to protect children.
Albanese said the goal is to support parents and keep kids safe.
In a post on X, he said: “We will introduce a minimum age law for social media to keep children safe.”
We will introduce a minimum age law for social media to keep children safe.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) September 9, 2024
“Parents tell me they are concerned about what age their children should be on social media. We will introduce legislation to enforce a minimum age for social media and other digital platforms in this term of Parliament. This is about supporting parents and keeping children safe,” he said.
Parents told me they are concerned about what age their children should get on social media.
We will introduce legislation in this term of Parliament to enforce a minimum age for social media and other digital platforms.
It aims to provide support to parents and keep children safe.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) September 9, 2024
In a national survey of children’s health conducted by the University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital on August 21 last year, more than half of parents reported mental health issues as the top health concern for their children and teens.
Overall, mental health and technology use topped the top ten list of parental concerns about children’s health issues in the United States this year, surpassing childhood obesity, which parents ranked as the top child health issue a decade ago.
“Parents still view children’s health issues as important issues that directly affect physical health, including unhealthy eating and obesity. However, concerns about mental health, social media and screen time have overtaken these issues,” said Mott Poll co-director and Mott pediatrician Susan Woolford, M.D., M.P.H.
According to a nationally representative survey, two-thirds of parents are concerned about the time children spend on devices, including total screen time and social media use, which ranked first and second, respectively, on this year’s list of children’s health concerns.
“Children are using digital devices and social media at younger ages, and parents are struggling with how to appropriately monitor to prevent negative impacts on safety, self-esteem, social relationships, and habits that can interfere with sleep and other areas of health,” Woolford said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
