Copyright theage
To submit a letter to The Age, email letters@theage.com.au. Please include your home address and telephone number. No attachments, please include your letter in the body of the email. See here for our rules and tips on getting your letter published. Shaun Rowland (Comment, 6/11) is right that children need to learn to navigate the real world, and that social media is part of it. But we can’t ignore how these platforms actually work. They are not neutral spaces. Their algorithms are designed to hold attention for as long as possible, often by amplifying emotion, comparison and conflict. That is challenging enough for adults. For children, whose brains and self-regulation are still developing, it can be overwhelming.We are in an awkward interim period. The technology is already embedded in childhood and adolescence, yet our laws, parenting norms and school systems have not caught up. We have, in effect, given children access to some of the most persuasive behavioural-shaping systems ever created, before ensuring they have the maturity or support to manage them.The signs of harm are now well-documented. The eSafety Commissioner’s most recent research found more than half of Australian children have experienced cyberbullying, and nearly three-quarters have encountered distressing or harmful content online. Kids Helpline has reported a sharp rise in suicide-risk contacts over the past five years.Psychologists such as Michael Carr-Gregg have warned consistently that these are not isolated incidents – they represent large numbers of young people struggling under the weight of unregulated digital environments.This does not mean banning children from the internet. But it does mean putting guardrails in place: sensible age limits, default privacy protections, reduced algorithmic feeds for minors, and proper digital education – at least until we can "catch up".Children will learn to live in the real world. Our job is to make sure the world they are learning in is safe enough to grow up in.Gavin Wilson, Caulfield South Landline role is life-savingIt is somewhat ironic that Shaun Rowland dismisses the role of landlines at a time when Optus outages rendered mobile phones useless. Far from being nostalgic, the phrase he is looking for might be “life-saving”. The same is true of the forthcoming social media ban. It is not fear nor nostalgia behind the ban, as he says, but the responsibility of the government to protect children. I write this as a victim of cyber bullying, one of the many people technophiles such as Rowland seem to never see.Anders Ross, Heidelberg Research points the other wayShaun Rowland acknowledges that teenagers encounter “cyberbullying, unrealistic beauty standards and addictive algorithms” online but his view of the government’s social media ban as harmful and nostalgic isn’t supported by American university research.Specifically, research undertaken between 2010 and 2015 into the smartphone use of 500,000 teenagers found that teens’ suicidal ideation and risk increased after two hours online. With smartphone use exceeding five hours daily, 70 per cent more likelihood of suicidal thoughts or behaviour was found, compared with teens with daily use of less than one hour.More recently, in 2025, research by leading American universities found that young people addicted to social media, smartphones or video games experience double the risk of suicidal ideation or attempts, plus manifestations of anxiety, depression, aggression or rule-breaking.This evidence can’t be taken lightly, especially given Australia’s high rates of youth suicide. Further, cyberbullying is inescapably 24/7, with the material permanently online.Conversely, for health and happiness, Harvard University’s 80-year, cross-generational research has consistently found that human-to-human relationships most substantially boost happiness, mental health and even longevity, exceeding the effects of genes, IQ and social class.Barbara Chapman, South Yarra
