BONUS EP: Social Media Reset

About this episode

This episode discusses Australia's decision to raise the age of access to social media and its implications on youth mental health.

In a world first Australia is raising the age of access to social media from 13 to 16. And there are plenty of questions: Why are we changing the age of access to social media? What are the impacts of social media on the brain? Why should parents support the social media ban for teens? How can we help young people with social media withdrawal symptoms? “The current 13 year old minimum age isn’t based on any meaningful development appropriateness for social media. There is not evidence that 13 year olds are in fact ready for social media. The 13 year old minimum came from a law in the US from 1996, which was actually well before smartphones or social media was even fully developed.” – Dr Simon Wilksch This podcast is an edited version of one of EDFA’s live webinar series. It was held just a couple of weeks before the introduction of the social media restrictions. In it we take a closer look at how social media affects the brain, from falling IQ and eating-disorder risk, to what withdrawal can look like when access to social media platforms is restricted. We also hear powerful insights from social media users who’ve been caught up in the algorithms themselves.  “We…

People in this episode

Host: Eating Disorders Families Australia - EDFA

Topics covered

• social media
• mental health
• youth development
• social media withdrawal
• parenting
• brain impact

Keywords

• social media
• mental health
• youth
• withdrawal symptoms
• brain development
• parenting
• eating disorders

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