None of this should present as normal or be acceptable for our under-16 children. As a school principal of over 20 years, this wasn‘t the case before smartphones and social media rewired childhood brains.
Currently, we are exposing a generation of young people to mental and emotional assault – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Principals are dealing with a tsunami of mental health issues in our schools, in part caused by the misuse of social media.
General practitioners, emergency departments, and psychiatrists are overwhelmed. From a purely economic perspective, introducing a minimum age restriction on social media could relieve some of the growing pressure on our already strained health system.
At Sacred Heart College, like at many schools across Aotearoa, we’ve had to counter the impact of social media most days. We employ counsellors, deans, and support staff who spend much of their time managing the fallout – despite the fact that much of this happens outside of school hours.
Often, both the victim and the offender are in the same school community. It’s distressing for students and their parents, and it’s an enormous burden on schools to contend with when our primary focus should be delivering education.
We have witnessed the connection between social media and rising youth crime. Examples include the glorification of violence, such as ram raids and schoolyard assaults uploaded to social media.
Many young people tell us they’re on their phones until 3am, fuelled by energy drinks, unable to switch off. They arrive at school exhausted, disengaged, and withdrawn. They’re living in a parallel universe – constantly scrolling, constantly stimulated, yet ironically isolated.
The algorithms driving these platforms are not neutral. They are not designed to calm or support a young mind – they are designed to provoke. A student types “I’m feeling sad” and instead of being linked to helpful resources, the algorithm leads them deeper into dark, extreme content, including suicidal ideation. It’s a trapdoor, not a ladder.
The addictive nature of these platforms is well understood, and yet we continue to place some of the most powerful computers ever invented – smartphones – in the hands of 16-year-olds without restriction or adequate filters.
Teenagers often measure their self-worth by what others say about them online. Their brains are like sponges, absorbing every comment, every image, every distorted ideal of who they should be. Many feel deep guilt, fear, and shame – yet they can’t stop because of its addictive nature.
Parents want to help, but they need national enforceable guidelines. Most parents we speak to trust their sons. They are often shocked when we show them what their children are actually accessing and posting. They want to do the right thing. We all do. But clearly, the approach of simply educating parents isn’t working. We’ve tried that, and it hasn’t made a meaningful dent in the serious harm being caused.
Some schools report students staying online until 3am most nights. Photo / 123RF
What we need now is clear, enforceable boundaries – just like we have for alcohol, cigarettes, or driving. We don’t allow 14-year-olds to buy a car and take off down the motorway alone. So why do we allow them free rein on social platforms designed for adults with adult content.
At Sacred Heart, the feedback from students about our phone restrictions has been overwhelmingly positive. They feel freer, more present, more focused. That’s telling.
We know social media can be harmful to young people. We’ve known this for years now. Children under-16 simply don’t have the emotional maturity and cognitive tools to cope with what they are exposed to.
The status quo for our under-16-year-olds accessing social media is not working and is causing unacceptable levels of harm.
The Australian Government has seized the initiative and is working through the technical and legal barriers. We know it won’t be easy, but like them, we owe it to our tamariki to give it a go.
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