Media release

From: University of the Sunshine Coast

UniSC Associate Professor of Journalism Renee Barnes was responding to proposed legislative changes to social media use, amid government calls to raise the age limit of teen users.

"The issue is the content, not the users, and yet these policy responses are targeting users," Dr Barnes says.

"Regulating children is a quick political win, under the guise of fixing broader mismanaged social problems. 

"Attempting to prevent young people up to the age of 16 from accessing social media entirely is not an appropriate or proportionate solution to serious issues of online harm.

"There are numerous implementation and privacy issues related to making a ban like this workable.

"Social media is a ubiquitous communication tool that already plays a role in all areas of adults' lives - employment, social and education - and this will only grow.

"How can we prepare our teens for that by simply telling them that they can't access it?

"Already plenty of young people use social media to have a voice and find connections and support. Simply telling them they can't could have significant negative consequences."

At UniSC, Dr Barnes teaches online journalism, podcasting and radio news, social media, communication research methods and entrepreneurial journalism.