Oh Foxy that’s one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me … 
, this is why I have to carry a Health Warning, men just can’t resist bacon butties.
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I’m probably going to sound like a bit of an old fogey here but I think it’s actually wonderful that children in Australia will no longer have the internet in their lives.
It troubles me that children are suffering much more from obesity and a lot are troubled by all sorts of anxieties that seem to be born out of having a modern childhood.
There is a newish playground that has been built in our village. It’s been there a few years now and every time we pass it, it’s empty. They have apparatus to play on, a soft surface and basketball hoops and it’s all carefully fenced in so kids can’t run into the road.
I’m sure all of us here recall a childhood of playing outside all day during the holidays and venturing far and wide on our bikes, building dens, exploring… even camping out.
The world has changed and kids don’t seem to be able to live like that anymore.
But more worrying is the online bullying, and the access to violent and unrealistic depictions of a sexual nature on the internet.
I feel it’s nice to remain a kid as long as possible. But very young children have access to violent porn on their phones. It is so sad and is going to affect the way they develop as they grow up. There is one particular murder that comes to mind here in my country by a child, of a child. The murderer had thousands of violent, sexual images on his phone. He’d obviously got his ideas from there. Having said that TV, games and films have a responsibility too. AI is capable of presenting children with even more graphic and unrealistic and dangerous scenarios. This can shape attitudes to others for life.
You can’t put the cork back in the bottle and uninvent the internet which has been in everyone’s homes for nigh on three decades. The summers of my youth where me and my friends set off on our bikes to explore all day cannot be recreated for today’s children.
But the internet, being largely unregulated in many ways, has gone down some very dark paths. There is no harm in keeping our children away and trying to steer them towards a healthier life.
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I agree with you 100%
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Exactly Rane, it’s very much a question of balance. My son learned to use the internet safety and responsibly gaining an awareness of pitfalls and dangers. No way did he totally immerse himself in it. It was simply about encouraging him to get involved in other things, no iron discipline nessecary 
The balance was very much about getting outdoors, fishing, hiking, metal detecting and camping. He really enjoyed taking The Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award.
He’s in his twenties now and is studying art and design. The internet is a great resource for him! 
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You can’t ‘Un-see’ things, they will corrupt a young persons mind forever.
This is such a big issue and at the heart of the problem is the US 1996 Communications Act which contained a clause that specifically removed any platform provider’s liability or responsibility for content shown on that platform. Even though the act pre-dates social media as known today the tech companies have successfully resisted any attempt to change this. So things that are illegal can be shown and shared on social media platforms and they need to nothing at all.
I don’t believe you’re that desperate. 
The government provides a portal?
Yeah, then like they do at MSN, they stop or remove comments that don’t fit the agenda that they’re pushing. The Guardian publishes articles every day on MSN, but they’ve removed the facility to comment on them. Therefore their agenda cannot be contradicted.
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France is now following Australia in banning social media for under 15’s. This will start with banning new accounts from this Sept and follow on to removing accounts from Jan 27. The French government says it is confident that age verification can be accurately applied. We shall see and it will be interesting to follow the backlash and/or dodges to avoid this ban.
I don’t want to get all stuffy about this but doesn’t parenting come into play?
There are other options, things to do for young children!
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I do not know as I have never had children. I would think, however, that suggesting that good parenting is the answer might make some feel that therefore poor parenting is the problem. And that would imply that parents of children who suffer depression, anxiety and even self harm (largely down to the pressures or suggestions from social media) are poor parents. That would be quite a contentious thing to be saying.
Where did I suggest that parenting is “the answer”?
I can only speak from my own experiences as a single dad.I can’t be expected to empathise with others, contentious or not!
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Then I misunderstood your comment about parenting “coming into play”. I thought that you were suggesting that the involvement of good parenting might reduce the risks / problems of children using social media. Hence, it could be an answer as opposed to the possible answer of banning social media for under 16’s.
But if that is not what you meant then it would be good to understand what “parenting coming into play” means and how it helps…
Fair enough Lincs. From a young age I’ve not allowed my son to be immersed in screens, pads, videos games etc. We’ve gone out camping, fishing, metal detecting foraging for wild foods etc. That’s not to say that gaming, learning to go online safely and the digital world have been out of bounds, far from it! It’s very much been about balance.
When I see parents just ignoring very young children, on buses for example during the school run and just giving them a phone as a means of pacifying them then surely it’s not a healthy approach to using social media. Setting up problems for the future perhaps?
I’ve always had quite strong views on this subject. I’ve never had to lay down the law because my son grew up appreciating that there were other activities to ‘enjoy’. Social media and things techy have never been perceived as the be all and end all.
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Thank you for your fullsome reply.
I very much respect your parenting and admire the efforts you made. This is surely what would be called good parenting. Especially the balance - it would most likely stigmatise children if their parents prevented all access to gaming and social media (while all other kids had). However I am sure we can agree that whilst your efforts led to well balanced children, that good outcome was not guaranteed. Similar parenting in a different family might not result in well adjusted kids due to other factors.
And I agree that it is awful that some parents over rely on computing and social media. This is surely moving towards bad parenting. And more likely to risk problems.
I would note that not all parents are knowledgeable enough to give their children guidance about online safety. So not giving such guidance is not, in itself, bad parenting.
However, we do not know the details of the upbringing and guidance provided by parents of children who have been harmed by social media. These parents could have been doing all the things you did - and yet still their children were harmed. This is the pernicious nature of social media.
Hence my point. Suggesting that good parenting is most likely to be the answer is also to suggest that bad parenting is the problem. But good parenting does not guarantee the hoped for outcome and neither will bad parenting always lead to a bad outcome. And not all parents are equipped or able to provide the sort of parenting you have described. I can see why parents of children very badly affected by social media believe that banning it for all children is likely to be more effective than hoping all parents are able to give their children the best sort of parenting, and then also hoping that this good parenting will actually work…
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Thank you Lincs!
Nothing in life, no outcome is guaranteed as I’m sure you’re aware. We just have do what we think is right.
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Just an added thought. Back when computer gaming and particularly MMO games (massively multiplayer online) kicked off there was plenty of worry about the impact on those hooked on such games. There would be kids stuck in their rooms playing some game with people from across the globe. The worry was about how poorly socialised these kids would be and how they would grow up.
A large house near us is the holiday home and used by the family through the year, just not all the time. For the past 3 weeks it has been occupied by the oldest son and his friends - now in their mid-twenties. Well behaved guys. These 4 friends “met” online playing such games when they were kids. Now as adults they get together each year - friends having a laugh and gaming. They all have jobs. Edit - they are from all across Europe.
So perhaps at least some of the worry a few years ago was misplaced…
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True Lincs!
I have a confession to make, I binned my Mega Drive at the age of thirty two, it drove me barmy!
The only game I really enjoyed was Desert Strike. Still can’t fly a helicopter for toffee! 
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For every happy ending like the one you describe, there are probably hundreds of stories with very unhappy endings Lincs.
My Granny used to smoke 40 strong cigarettes every day of her life and she died at the age of 85 from an illness unconnected to smoking…But that doesn’t mean that everyone should smoke if they want to live a long healthy life…Just saying!
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I know, I was simply highlighting that the worry about online games might have been overstated. Unlike the worry about social media as there is daily evidence of the problems it creates. All of these bans and talked about bans could have been avoided if the social media companies had taken responsibility for the content, not created algorithms designed to hook people in and create outrage, not put ad revenue above children’s safety.
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