Spark Study Buddy (Challenger): Australia plans to ban children from social media
The story on this page has some tougher vocabulary words and questions to improve your understanding and English grammar.
Australia plans to implement a minimum age requirement to prevent children from using social media. Photo: TNSContent provided by British Council
[1] Australia will ban children from using social media and set the minimum age requirement as high as 16, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said earlier this month, vowing to get kids off their devices and “onto the footy fields”. New laws for social media will be introduced this year, he said, describing the impact of the sites on young people as a “scourge”.
[2] The minimum age for children to log into sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok has not been decided yet but is expected to be between 14 and 16 years, Albanese explained. The prime minister said his preference would be to block users under 16.
[3] “I want to see kids off their devices and onto the footy fields and the swimming pools and the tennis courts,” Albanese said. “We want them to have real experiences with real people because we know that social media is causing social harm,” he told national broadcaster ABC.
[4] Australia’s conservative opposition leader Peter Dutton said he would support an age limit. “Every day of delay leaves young kids vulnerable to the harms of social media,” he said, adding that tech companies could not be relied upon to enforce age restrictions.
[5] However, analysts warned that an age limit may not help troubled children. Daniel Angus, who leads the digital media research centre at Queensland University of Technology, said it “threatens to create serious harm by excluding young people from meaningful, healthy participation in the digital world.”
[6] “There is logic in establishing boundaries that limit young people’s access,” said Samantha Schulz, senior sociologist of education at the University of Adelaide. “However, young people are not the problem and regulating youth misses the more urgent task of regulating irresponsible social media platforms. Social media is an unavoidable part of young people’s lives.”
[7] The prime minister said parents expected a response to the bullying and harmful material on social media. “These social media companies think they’re above everyone,” he told a radio interviewer. “Well, they have a social responsibility, and at the moment, they’re not exercising it. And we’re determined to make sure that they do,” he said.
Source: Agence France-Presse, September 10
Questions
1. How old would children in Australia have to be to use social media if the law mentioned in paragraph 1 were to be passed?___________________________________________________
2. According to paragraph 3, Prime Minister Albanese wants children to …
A. stop using phones.
B. play sports.
C. speak to real people.
D. all of the above
3. According to Angus in paragraph 5, why could setting an age limit be harmful to young people?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. What does Samantha Schulz believe is the problem with social media according to paragraph 6?
A. the content
B. the platforms
C. the users
D. the advertisements
5. What does “they” in paragraph 7 refer to?
___________________________________________________
6. Decide whether the following statements are in written in active or passive voice. (3 marks)
(i) Social media is causing social harm.
(ii) Children in Australia will be banned from using social media.
(iii) Analysts warn that an age limit may not help troubled children.
Answers
1. 16
2. D
3. because it excludes them from meaningful, healthy participation in the digital world
4. B
5. social media companies
6. (i) active; (ii) passive; (iii) active