Photo: 123rf
The country's youth say they're not impressed by the National Party's proposal to ban social media for users aged under 16.
The proposed ban follows Australia's lead, which passed a law in November to ban children and teenagers from using social media.
The proposal has spurred a lot of political debate, with ACT claiming the ban won't work and calling for an inquiry.
Young people said they would rather see education and guidance around social media, rather than a blanket ban.
Fifteen-year-old Olivia, who uses TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat, said social media has been a big part of teenagers' lives.
"I think it's really important just to connect with your friends and see what's happening around the world because I feel like New Zealand's very far away from everything and it's cool to see what the other countries are up to," she said.
Another 15-year-old, Katherine, said banning social media wasn't the solution.
"I don't think it's going to stop anything. I think the answer to the problem of social media is education. It's not to ban anything," she said.
"The government's very good at banning things and they're not very good at finding real solutions for them."
Katherine believed the government could give children more things to do at school to distract them from going on social media.
She also said young people were generally aware of the harm of excessive social media use, but many would welcome proper guidance on its use.
"Phones are going to become more and more important as you get older, and I think to just take them away is stupid because we're going to all use them one day," she said.
"We need to learn how to use it properly rather than have it by making it like illegal. You're making it like a drug."
Another teenager, Sophie, who's 14, said the government could consider introducing different rules for different age groups instead of a blanket ban.
"I feel like it should be more like instead of it being completely banned for ages 16 and fully under, I feel like it should be more like 16,15,14,13, should have more restrictions on it and then any age below that shouldn't have social media."
Fifteen-year-old Tevita said some children are too young to know what content was appropriate to post and some regulation would be a good thing.
"I reckon it's reasonable because there're some kids out there that mess up stuff and they're too young to be on like social media and stuff," he said.
"So, I reckon... they need to ask their parents for permission."
What do parents think?
Parent to a 13-year-old, Jo Gosset. Photo: RNZ / Yiting Lin
Jo Gosset, who said her 13-year-old son has been "in the world of social media", welcomed the National Party's proposal.
"I think sometimes it's hard to fully understand what they're exposed to and as a parent, how to control that without just having to lock everything down," she said.
She said parents do have the opportunity to review what content's been shared but there could be loopholes and things parents are not always across.
"I guess as parents, we would like to protect our children, but...moving forward with the times...you've got to be a bit realistic that this is the way that it's going. So, it's a tricky one," Gosset said.
"I think it's quite an interesting initiative that the government are looking into, and I'm definitely keen to understand more about what this might look like for the future of our youth."
Another parent Ariel Zhang, who has a 12 and a 14-year-old, said the proposal was "necessary".
"I saw that Australia has banned social media (for children) and I hoped that New Zealand could do the same," she said.
Zhang said chidren who grew up during the Covid-19 pandemic could lack the ability to read other people's emotions or body language, and she hoped her kids could make friends in person, rather than communicating with them online.
"They are not mature enough, and I don't think it's a good idea to allow them unlimited access to influencers on social media," Zhang said.
"I don't think they are strong enough to distinguish right from wrong. Some inappropriate remarks may affect their worldview, values and outlook on life."
National's proposal involves forcing companies to use age verification measures.
ACT leader David Seymour said the Australian law is nowhere near in place due to the complexities of implementing it.
He said New Zealand should hold a quality public inquiry before a select committee to learn from the Australians mistakes rather than making mistakes with them.
An internet law expert, retired Judge David Harvey, said potential harm posed by social media should be managed by parents rather than the government.
