Last week our current Prime Minister and the MP for Tukituki (Hastings), Catherne Wedd, added to this list with a proposal to prevent those under 16 from accessing social media.
This will prove popular. Foolish ideas often are. Leadership is knowing when to say no but before we deal with the ongoing failures at the top of the cabinet table; let’s unpack what is wrong with protecting our children from the evils of Instagram Reels.
Professor Jonathan Haidt has compiled compelling research on the malign impact of social media on young minds. Haidt is especially focused on the destructive impact on girls, who can face relentless bullying from their online peers. Boys resolve their disputes with a punch to the face which, it seems, is less psychologically disruptive.
Thanks to the work of Haidt and others responsible, and even irresponsible, parents know of this issue and act accordingly. If we were governed by a party that believed in Individual freedom and choice, personal responsibility and limited government, that is where this story would end.
Naturally, girls being mean to each other on Snapchat requires central government legislation and sure enough a clutch of worried mothers formed a collective and began to cry…won’t someone think of the children?
This lobby group set up a website, opened an Instagram account their kids are not allowed to access and scored a photo-op with the Prime Minister who, it seems, was so impressed he jumped onto this waka without bothering to see if it was sea-worthy.
The premise, as advertised on front, and only, page of the b416 website, is“ 3 out of 4 young people say Mental Health is the biggest issue that face”. Bold claim.
This is backed up by a report which, if anyone bothered to read it, says something, well, less dramatic; “3 in 4 young people agree mental health is a problem for their generation.”
Take a moment and re-read those two paragraphs and appreciate the level of deception being engaged here. The rest of the report degenerates into childhood angst; “ I have to catch a train and then bus to get to school so I'm not close to home. I worry about getting stuck on a bus or train or at school if the weather got bad again.”
You get the idea. Although, nearly 80% of those surveyed reported their mental weather being mild, partly sunny, or all sunshine.
And here is the kicker. Only 18% reported that “social media pressures” were causes of stress; with half worried about the future and the pressure to succeed while a quarter fretted about trying to fit in.
Some participants seemed to tick all of the boxes with 40% worried about life in general. It was an online survey conducted for Youthline, an organisation making a wonderful contribution to young people in trouble; and one of the findings in their report was; “Social Media remains the best channel for Youthline to reach young people…”
Did no one read beyond the press release?
Under Wedd’s law Facebook, X and others “…must take all reasonable steps to prevent an age-restricted user from being an account holder…” Practically, this means asking for your ID when you create your account while your fourteen-year-old will be able to use a Virtual Private Network to continue posing as @hungrycaterpillar69.
The definition of a social network is wide enough to capture platforms like Messenger Kids and Discord, which will need to apply for regulatory approval and, if the government of the day likes them, it will be granted.
What is troubling isn’t the idiocy of the legislation but that Luxon didn’t instinctively understand that it wasn’t the role of the state to monitor children’s screen time. Even if the policy worked, a conservative should be very wary about inserting the state into family life in such a draconian manner.
Luxon does not understand that he leads a conservative party.
The Prime Minister talks about his passion for growth but outside of the threatened changes to the Resource Management Act and some new roads, there is nothing in his policy agenda that will achieve anything tangible and the social media bill is indicative of the problem.
Meanwhile his 2iC has been busy threatening to unleash the Commerce Commission onto the supermarket sector and has her eyes on the banks with a plan to re-capitalise KiwiBank in order to compete with the Australian banks.
What Willis hasn’t done is outline a credible plan to bring her books back to surplus, lower the tax burden or reduce the size of the state.
Luxon and Willis are running an interventionist and activist economic and social model. The willingness to use the power of the state to control what your child watches in your home is consistent with a centre-left big-government progressive agenda.......The full article is published HERE
Damien Grant is an Auckland business owner, a member of the Taxpayers’ Union and a regular opinion contributor for Stuff, writing from a libertarian perspective
Professor Jonathan Haidt has compiled compelling research on the malign impact of social media on young minds. Haidt is especially focused on the destructive impact on girls, who can face relentless bullying from their online peers. Boys resolve their disputes with a punch to the face which, it seems, is less psychologically disruptive.
Thanks to the work of Haidt and others responsible, and even irresponsible, parents know of this issue and act accordingly. If we were governed by a party that believed in Individual freedom and choice, personal responsibility and limited government, that is where this story would end.
Naturally, girls being mean to each other on Snapchat requires central government legislation and sure enough a clutch of worried mothers formed a collective and began to cry…won’t someone think of the children?
This lobby group set up a website, opened an Instagram account their kids are not allowed to access and scored a photo-op with the Prime Minister who, it seems, was so impressed he jumped onto this waka without bothering to see if it was sea-worthy.
The premise, as advertised on front, and only, page of the b416 website, is“ 3 out of 4 young people say Mental Health is the biggest issue that face”. Bold claim.
This is backed up by a report which, if anyone bothered to read it, says something, well, less dramatic; “3 in 4 young people agree mental health is a problem for their generation.”
Take a moment and re-read those two paragraphs and appreciate the level of deception being engaged here. The rest of the report degenerates into childhood angst; “ I have to catch a train and then bus to get to school so I'm not close to home. I worry about getting stuck on a bus or train or at school if the weather got bad again.”
You get the idea. Although, nearly 80% of those surveyed reported their mental weather being mild, partly sunny, or all sunshine.
And here is the kicker. Only 18% reported that “social media pressures” were causes of stress; with half worried about the future and the pressure to succeed while a quarter fretted about trying to fit in.
Some participants seemed to tick all of the boxes with 40% worried about life in general. It was an online survey conducted for Youthline, an organisation making a wonderful contribution to young people in trouble; and one of the findings in their report was; “Social Media remains the best channel for Youthline to reach young people…”
Did no one read beyond the press release?
Under Wedd’s law Facebook, X and others “…must take all reasonable steps to prevent an age-restricted user from being an account holder…” Practically, this means asking for your ID when you create your account while your fourteen-year-old will be able to use a Virtual Private Network to continue posing as @hungrycaterpillar69.
The definition of a social network is wide enough to capture platforms like Messenger Kids and Discord, which will need to apply for regulatory approval and, if the government of the day likes them, it will be granted.
What is troubling isn’t the idiocy of the legislation but that Luxon didn’t instinctively understand that it wasn’t the role of the state to monitor children’s screen time. Even if the policy worked, a conservative should be very wary about inserting the state into family life in such a draconian manner.
Luxon does not understand that he leads a conservative party.
The Prime Minister talks about his passion for growth but outside of the threatened changes to the Resource Management Act and some new roads, there is nothing in his policy agenda that will achieve anything tangible and the social media bill is indicative of the problem.
Meanwhile his 2iC has been busy threatening to unleash the Commerce Commission onto the supermarket sector and has her eyes on the banks with a plan to re-capitalise KiwiBank in order to compete with the Australian banks.
What Willis hasn’t done is outline a credible plan to bring her books back to surplus, lower the tax burden or reduce the size of the state.
Luxon and Willis are running an interventionist and activist economic and social model. The willingness to use the power of the state to control what your child watches in your home is consistent with a centre-left big-government progressive agenda.......The full article is published HERE
Damien Grant is an Auckland business owner, a member of the Taxpayers’ Union and a regular opinion contributor for Stuff, writing from a libertarian perspective
7 comments:
I don't think wanting to protect your kids is foolish. I can educate my kids but
I can't educate others - the kids of parents who don't know, don't care or are too busy... there are plenty of those around. And those kids become the perpetuatotrs of violence as in so many other cases.
We have driving rules to try and stop drivers killing other people ...
We have rules on drugs to try and protect others...
We have rules on consent for sexual activity ...
The present government is completely out of touch with reality when it comes to embracing technology.
They are stuck in a 1950s mindset.
Every school I am aware of has a Facebook page, which is a valuable resource for keeping the entire school including students, staff and parents informed and advised on just about every aspect of school life and daily activities.
What do they propose schools should replace the internet with?
The purple ink Gestetner?
They also against the public service use of remote working technology which has only increased efficiency and services. They would rather force public servants crammed back into farty old badly maintained offices apparently just keep the local CBD businesses viable? I would expect statistics on harassment to skyrocket when that shortly happens.
Trying to suppress new ideas, progress and the way society already works and lives, is not only foolish but morally bankrupt.
This is all about digital ID for adults. Not protecting children.
I cant stand social media. I dont have it, my kids dont have it. I have taught them that privacy is very important. That validation in this way means nothing. That their friends are one ones physically standing beside them. BUT....what this is doing is once again taking responsibility away from the parent. I am the parent. The government is not my childrens parent. They are my responsibility and I do not want it to be any other way. You mentioned limited government....this is the most important factor here....once again they go too far into a place where no one wants them before fixing the things that are really important.
Perhaps we are dealing something new to society here with the ability to do as much damage as say fentanyl.
And we are to allow Zuckerberg and co to do what they wish with our children's minds ?
Social media is an individuals choice you say. So's fentanyl
Right now the state provides 242,000 school lunches a day , because many of their parents don't have the discipline or sense of responsibility to do so themselves.
We need to be much more discerning about new technologies, and their effects on a developing brain like a child's. Over exposure to screens is harmful for children as shown by research. They can be as addictive as other substances with addiction to dopamine. They interfere with sleep , cause depression and other psychological problems. This is even beside the bullying and other perverse content in the dark web and elsewhere.
Our Min. of Education , since they are themselves addicted to anything new because of their adherence to progressivism have ignored research that indicates learning with screens is not as good as texts, pen and paper. The transgender craze has developed because of influencers on social media.
Parents with teens need help to take on the difficult task of restricting so much screen exposure in their children's lives. Workers in Silica Valley select schools that ban screens and severely restrict the time their own children spend on them at home.
Yes, it’s about control, with One Register to rule them all. Technocracy’s control grid is built and ready to lock us down into their digital gulag..
StatsNZ is creating a Persistent Unique IdentIfier (PUI) for each citizen to track them over time in an Integrated Statistical Data System – or ‘Statistical Register’.
The new system will link business, location and population registers giving a nearly complete picture of a person’s life over time
The data in this register will be updated in real time as it becomes available, moving away from data ‘snapshots’ that only show a moment in time
A Stats NZ insider is concerned this power will be abused.
Insiders and privacy law academics argue the new system potentially violates core principles of the Privacy Act.
https://realitycheck.radio/one-register-to-rule-them-all-what-stats-nz-is-planning-behind-closed-doors/
Post a Comment