Eighteen-year-old Audrey from Melbourne has lived her whole life with YouTube just a touch away. This platform helps drive a key aspect of today’s youth culture for most Gen Zers. That early experiment, which began just 20 years ago, transformed over the years into the world’s second most visited website, second only to Google. The Australian federal government just made a big change in that direction. YouTube will be unable to continue exempting itself from its national social media bans for users under 16, which is raising frets about the fate of young Australians.
YouTube has long upheld a narrative which includes an idea that it is not a social media platform, but a video streaming platform. In the process, it has grown to become one of the most popular tools used by parents and teachers in classrooms as an educational tool. The platform has been widely blasted for pivoting away from content that most consider healthy and non-toxic, non-addictive. This sudden change has left many parents and educators shocked, as they have had to quickly learn the intricacies of online learning for their children.
Impact on Young Australians
At only 11 years old Leo Puglisi started his own news channel, 6 News Australia. Since then, he’s continued to build an amazing audience of more than 35,000 subscribers. His experience serves as a model for how to achieve impactful engagement on the platform. Puglisi admits that some content is harmful. He stated, “It’s not as simple as scrolling through brain rot videos,” highlighting the nuanced nature of content consumption among young users.
Callum, a third Melbourne teen, is representative of the different ways that young people use YouTube. He mostly watches Minecraft videos but confesses to occasionally looking for other, more violent gaming content. Callum remembers with a smile rising early to watch his gaming videos on the big screen as the rest of his family slept. This nostalgia highlights the very personal connection so many young people currently have with the platform.
“Overall, I think it is good that YouTube doesn’t get an exemption from the ban,” – Callum
At the same time, there are some negative consequences to that ban, and he’s very clear about it. “But I recognize that it is the removal of a significant amount of culture and community from young people,” he added. High-quality regulations should be put in place to protect our youth. In doing so, this effort might inadvertently suppress a rich part of their cultural heritage.
Government Regulations and Industry Response
The new regulations stipulate that YouTube could face fines of nearly $50 million for failing to take reasonable steps to restrict under-16 access to its platform. This move comes amid mounting criticism over the role of social media in shaping young people’s behavior and mentality. Tom King, an advocate for youth engagement, expressed support for the government’s stance against large corporations:
“The idea of Australia taking an active and prolonged stance against billion-dollar US corporations, I would absolutely support that any day of the week,” – Tom King
He asked some pointed questions about the impact of those efforts. “Whether that’s the right action, I don’t know,” he remarked. King believes it is essential to address how platforms can affect young minds, stating, “It truly is just about how far can you disengage a child to the point where they’re just completely reliant on this really cheap dopamine.”
The dialogue surrounding these regulations highlights a tension between protecting youth and allowing them to engage with platforms integral to their lives. Mr. Vasiliou emphasized the importance of involving young people in policy discussions rather than merely dictating terms to them:
“We are not for or against the ban, but we are about designing policies with young people, not for them,” – Mr. Vasiliou
Diverse Perspectives Among Youth
Audrey’s experience with YouTube is emblematic of the fraught relationship most young people have with digital media today. Special guest Martina Quiere remembers her parents forbidding her to use the platform because they were worried about its effect on her mood. “My parents banned YouTube from me because they said it had a negative effect on my attitude,” she shared.
Even with this limitation she remains an evangelist for the platform’s potential. “I think it’s a good way to communicate and have fun,” she added. She expressed mixed feelings about the government’s decision, suggesting that lowering the age for social media use to 14 might have been more appropriate. “I get why they [the government] did it, but I feel like they should have lowered the age a little bit to maybe 14.”
Callum agreed with Audrey’s sentiments on the need for young people to understand how to engage with the world without particular digital crutches. He stated, “I think kids learning to live without social media, that’s kind of what we need.” This perspective reflects the growing interest among youth to create safer spaces for themselves in their virtual and physical communities.
