SA children’s rights group supports Australia’s social media ban
An organisation that campaigns against child abuse says should South Africa consider adopting a ban on social media use for children, parental involvement would be crucial.
This month, Australia became the first country to ban those under the age of 16 from holding accounts on popular social media platforms such as TikTok, YouTube and Instagram.
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The move was motivated by concerns over mental health risks, online bullying, and the lack of proven safety measures.
Luke Lamprecht from Women and Men Against Child Abuse says social media also presents challenges for young South Africans, particularly the amount of time children spend online.
He adds that while legislation may help reduce harm, active parental supervision and guidance remain essential in protecting children in the digital space.
“There are more specific issues, like things around social comparison. Particularly for girl children, there is things around comparing yourself to others or being compared, or people saying ugly things about you. Boy children are being recruited via various platforms that we are seeing for various things around radicalisation.
“We have seen things around violence, racism, massive misogyny and sexism and a range of other issues. It changes the way they speak their language. We have seen children's language deteriorate terribly, particularly on gaming and social media platforms.”
Lamprecht says children seeking mental health support online often encounter unsafe or misleading information, which can worsen emotional distress rather than provide help.
“I do believe that parents need to be aware of what their children are doing online. Secondly, there needs to be the ability to enforce it because this country has a million fantastic laws around a million things, yet we still see underage vaping, underage drinking, underage marijuana use.”
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