It’s the question that’s gripped the nation – how young is too young when it comes to social media?

The South Australian Government has been proactive in pushing for legislation that would see young people under 14 banned from popular websites like TikTok and Instagram, with children aged 14 to 16 needing parental consent before they could sign up.

It’s an idea that has seen widespread approval, with several other states considering introducing their own legislation and the Federal Government stating that they would soon propose national laws.

Now the State Government has announced that it will team up with the NSW Government to host two major Social Media Summits that will explore and address the concerning impacts of social media on the mental health and development of children.

Taking place in Sydney on 10 October and Adelaide on 11 October, the Summits seeks to shine a light on the potentially detrimental effects of social media on young people, including exposure to inappropriate and illegal content, the prevalence of cyberbullying, and overall negative impacts on their mental health and well-being.

These issues were raised in a report – the Legal Examination into Social Media Access for Children – led by former High Court Chief Justice Robert French.

The report, which was released in early September and can be read here, proposes a legislative model that would impose a duty on social media platforms to prevent access to their services by an individual child within the restricted age ranges. The model includes a capacity to exempt services that do not expose children to harm, such as those providing educative or health services.

“The issue of protecting children from the harms of social media is one of global concern,” Mr French said.

“The proposed legislative model to give effect to a ban on access to social media by children under 14 and requiring parental consent for children aged 14 and 15, has regard to the complex and dynamic setting in which the law would operate.

“My hope is that South Australia’s initiative leads to a coherent national approach to this issue.”

The summit, which is the first of its kind, will bring together a wide variety of experts, policymakers, academics, young people, and the wider community to work together in establishing a public health response to the design and delivery of policies, programs and resources to address the challenges social media poses.

And summit organisers are keen to hear from you, the people of South Australia.

They’re inviting everyone who is interested, invested or concerned about our young people and social media to participate in our YourSAy consultation here.

By actively contributing you can help play an important role in these discussions and shape how these policies and programs can help protect our young people and make online communities safer.