Australia to Enforce Age Limit for Social Media Access

CANBERRA: Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister of Australia, mentioned that the government would provide a law that determined what age a person is allowed to use social media. He further stated that this was an initiative that supports parents in securing the protection of children online.

He wrote on X: "We'll legislate a minimum age for social media to keep children safe."

Parents tell me they're concerned about what age their kids should be on social media. Well, in this term of Parliament we'll be introducing legislation to enforce a minimum age for social media and other digital platforms. It's about supporting parents and keeping kids safe," he added.

Indeed, this year's August 21 survey conducted by the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital revealed that more than half of parents consider mental health issues to be the biggest health concern for their children and teens.

Indeed, mental health and technology use were top concerns of parents in the United States, making them surpass childhood obesity, which was earlier the leading concern of parents ten years ago.

Mott Poll co-director and pediatrician Susan Woolford said that, although physical health concerns -- like unhealthy eating and obesity -- are still significant concerns for parents regarding their kids, these concerns have now been overshadowed by mental health issues, social media, and screen time.

A new national survey finds that two-thirds of parents say they are concerned about the time their children spend on devices, with screen time and social media use rated as parents' top two health concerns for kids this year.

Woolford added that as children increasingly access digital devices and social media at an earlier age, this makes it hard for parents to monitor their children effectively in order to avoid potential adverse impacts on safety, self-esteem, social connections, and habits interfering with sleep and other health factors.

ALSO READ:

ALSO WATCH: