Wagga Asthma Swim Club members on the eve of Australia’s world-first social media ban, are too distracted by sport to be overly worried. Picture: Marguerite McKinnon.
At the Oasis Swimming Centre in Wagga this week, it’s been business as usual in the pool for Wagga Asthma Swim Club. The children were too distracted by sport to focus on the ban on social media for under-16s which began on Wednesday 10 December.
After swimming with their mates, the children needed to be reminded of the new law. But when they remembered, the word they used to describe the ban was “annoying” as it cuts key communication pathways.
“It makes it really hard,” Chelsea, 14, said.
Chelsea is a water polo coach to under-12s but now can’t get onto the Facebook Messenger group chat to let mostly parents (and some children) know who they will be playing and where.
“I’ll probably just get my mum to send the messages, but it really impacts me considering I’m the coach and I really should be doing all this stuff.”
Chelsea’s mum, Sarah, also has a 17-year-old.
“It’s essentially going to have a big impact because one child can still sit there on social media and the other one gets to sit there and watch,” Sarah said.
“I get it, why the ban is happening. I’ve had friends in the past who have had their children be victims of social media bullying. It’s intense, as they might be getting bullied at school, but when they get home the bullying follows them home because it’s online, so it can be very hard.”
At the Oasis, children aged seven to 16 honed their swimming techniques for 90 minutes under the guidance of their three coaches, John, Michelle and Alec. It’s an intense workout.
The irony was seeing nearly every parent sitting around the pool with their heads down watching their phones while their children swam.
Mum Kathryn noticed this before revealing she had been banned from social media too – at least on Snapchat.
“I had a text message saying I was banned. Maybe the way I signed up somehow through my daughter,” Kathryn said.
Kathryn has three children, aged 16, 14 and 12.
“I’m not sure how it happened. I was a little miffed initially but then I thought, well maybe I do look young,” Kathryn said.
Jokes aside, Kathryn was generally happy with the social media ban.
“I was just thinking, that this (Wagga Asthma Swim Club) is an hour and a half of not having to fight to get them off technology because often you get home and it’s just default, they just go straight to tech,” Kathryn said.
“The ban is overdue. It’s scary what can happen. I think initially the apps, like Snapchat was made innocently and for fun, but it’s just been overtaken and there’s a dark side.”
Swim coach Alec said the social media ban would ultimately be a good move.
“The internet is becoming so inhospitable for kids that they’re just being fed the lowest grade crap people who want to make money and ‘views’ are going to put out,” he said.
Roblox is one gaming platform that has removed its chat feature for under-13s because of the Australian-led social media ban. Picture: Marguerite McKinnon.
Away from the distraction of sport, reactions are stronger.
Ben, 15, is not happy with the ban as it impinges on communication with friends.
“Lots of people have lost communication with basically everyone they know,” Ben said.
“I don’t think it’s good as we used to be able to communicate or express ourselves with, like, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat,” he said.
“You want to hang out after school, you know? You can’t just meet up, and you need a phone anyway. Most of my friends have been locked out already because they’re under 16. We’re just using Messenger now but it just doesn’t feel the same.”
Like most things, there are loopholes.
Eric, 15, has somehow circumvented the ban’s filter system on Instagram.
“When it tested me, my face came back as 17, so I’m chill,” he said.
Claudia plays on her iPad every day after school with her school friends who live in distant suburbs around Wagga. The Roblox ban has stopped the friends from messaging in-game, but they can still talk while playing, by opening the Messenger app and having it on speaker; however, there are limitations.
“You can’t talk to people if they don’t have Messenger Kids (app) and I want to play with my cousin too, but she doesn’t have Messenger Kids,” said Claudia.
Up until now, the consequences of the ban have been speculative. The test will be from this week.
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: “Rather than spending it scrolling on your phone, start a new sport, learn a new instrument or read a book.”
Perhaps Wagga’s reputation as “the City of Good Sports” might offer a buffer for children by making them too busy playing sport to be at home watching a screen and being miserable about the ban.
