One of the two mothers who became the driving force behind Australia’s world-first ban on social media for under-16s has lashed the tech giants, calling their claims about responsibility ‘so repugnant’.
Emma Mason’s 15-year-old daughter Tilly ended her life following storms of online bullying, leaving Mason in grief and determination to protect other children.
“I wear this, her ashes are in there,” Emma said, touching a pendant around her neck. Mia Bannister, whose 14-year-old son also died by suicide, carries her son’s memory similarly: “So I carry him around my neck in a little canister, his ashes.”
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today
From next week, more than a million teens will be cut from social media platforms under the new laws. The mothers remain unapologetic about the drastic measure.
The two families helped convince the federal government to launch the groundbreaking social media bans. Emma even travelled with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to New York, meeting world leaders and sharing Tilly’s story, which brought some to tears.
“Because our children have been part of a social experiment that we didn’t sign up for, and we didn’t know was going to destroy them,” Emma said.
The statistics paint a grim picture: 57 per cent of teens were bullied online last year, with 13 per cent told to hurt or kill themselves.
“I believe that when social media was unleashed on the world, it was the greatest social experiment of humankind,” Mia said.
The new laws require big tech companies to block under-16 users from 10 platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube. Companies face fines of up to $50 million for breaches.
Emma doesn’t believe big tech’s claims that social media hasn’t harmed children. “It is so repugnant that that’s what they think,” she said, citing “11 suicide attempts and a successful 12th.”
The trauma continues to haunt the families. “Unfortunately, I found Ollie, so I go to bed with that vision in my head every single night,” Mia said.
Both mothers carry guilt about buying their children phones in the first place. “I thought it was connection, he could stay in touch with me, but I handed him a weapon,” Mia said.
Now they’re determined to take on big tech.
“I know we’re going to win this because we have to win it,” Emma said. “We have to protect our children.”
If you need help in a crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For further information about depression contact beyondblue on 1300 224 636 or talk to your GP, local health professional or someone you trust.
