It’s all too easy to get hooked by the online world, to fall headlong into it, to spend hour upon hour immersed in it. Cyberspace has its good, but also much bad. Staying in control of their social media lives is difficult enough for many adults, but for children it can be an especially dangerous world in which to dwell.

Too often children are glued to their phones and devices, staring, scrolling, disengaged from the world around them. Too many children are exposed to online harm, including bullying, grooming and shaming. Appallingly, too many children are emotionally and psychologically damaged from social media exposure. Terribly, and tragically, some have taken their own lives as a result of what has befallen them online.

In Australia, a campaign that started with parents who lost teens to online-related suicides, backed by the country’s most powerful media organisation, has led to a world first. Australia’s government has implemented age restrictions – a de facto ban – on children under 16 accessing social media platforms. Those restrictions came into force today, and the rest of the world is watching.

Tech-savvy teenagers – and the adults abetting them – will beat the ban

The ban is immensely popular. This week, a major opinion poll found 70 per cent of Australian voters back it, with only 15 per cent expressly opposing. With numbers like those, it’s no wonder Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and his opposition counterparts all endorsed the Let Them Be Kids campaign........

© The Spectator