Activists renew calls for tighter regulation of social media access in SA

Non-profit organisation,  Smartphones-Free Childhood SA says the country should consider following Australia, the US and parts of the EU in introducing legally enforced age restrictions for social media use.

The organisation argues that excessive screen time is damaging children’s mental and physical wellbeing and warns that a lack of regulation is leaving young people exposed to serious developmental risks.

SFC-SA Head of Administration, Kate Fabio, says global attitudes are shifting as research increasingly links heavy screen use to declining mental health in adolescents.

“I think just to contextualise, we’re currently experiencing a massive global shift in thinking, as the last 15 years of research is showing that too much and inappropriate screen exposure is definitely linked to the declining mental and physical health of our tweens and our teens.

“And while there are other factors contributing to this pandemic, it is and has been proven that screens are a big factor because by their nature they interfere with and detract from all of the basic foundations of good mental health, Fabio added.

The call comes as Australia prepares to ban social media for under-16s, with Meta already shutting down accounts of users aged 13 to 15 from 4 December. The Australian government says the new law is aimed at protecting children from harmful online content.

Under the legislation, platforms including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and X will have to block young users or face fines of more than R560 million.

Platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and X will have to block young users or face fines of more than R560 million.

Fabio says powerful algorithms expose children to harmful content and addictive online behaviour, reinforcing the need for stricter regulation.

The organisation says it believes delaying social media use is not about restricting likes and emojis, but about protecting children from sophisticated algorithms that deliver unfiltered and often harmful content.

“Limiting this very addictive push and pull that they have, limiting the host of missed opportunities as a result of time spent online, and also limiting the dark portal that it opens to cyber bullying, grooming, predation, sexual harassment, sexting, sextortion, pornography, gaming, and now gambling addictions, which are also rife. And we’ve got safety measures and age restrictions for just about every product we can think of that impacts children except for social media,” Fabio said.

Fabio, who is also a mother of teenagers, insists the aim should not be to ban social media access, but to delay it.

She says experts suggest an age limit between 16 and 25, but any restriction would be an improvement over the current situation, where very young children have access to social media.