‘Tech bros have stolen my family’: Sydney household debates social media ban

2 months ago 6

Hamish and Cristina De Souza-Bell, and their two daughters, Ariel, 13 (who, according to Snapchat, is 17), and Elena, 9, are four of the millions of Australians affected by the social media ban. The family gathered together on Hamish and Cristina’s bed in their Manly Vale home to debate their perspectives on the federal government’s world-leading legislation.

Kayla: Ariel, Elena, when did you start using social media and which apps?

Ariel: I use TikTok and Snapchat the most; I started using them in year six. I was on YouTube when I was in year two. I have already been banned from Instagram, but I didn’t use it much anyway.

Elena: I play Roblox, and I like how they did it because they didn’t ban me from it. It asked me to move my head and then show my face, and it assumed I was nine to 13; now I can only talk to those people.

Kayla: Hamish, Cristina, how do you feel about your daughters being off social?

Cristina: I think it’ll be good. Ariel spends a lot of time on it, and I understand she’s a good student; she goes to school, plays sports, and that’s the time she socialises with her friends. But it could be less than it is at that moment.

Ariel De Souza-Bell in her Manly Vale home.

Hamish: I had a conversation earlier, just with Ariel, about what’s going to happen when the ban comes in. Are you going to break the law? I think there is an addiction element to it.

Ariel: No, there’s not!

Hamish: Which she denies, but it’s not just teenagers or kids – it’s adults as well. But what’s going to happen when the ban comes in? I know Ariel intends to keep using it. It’s not enforceable. We just went out to dinner at Grill’d, and we’re talking, and Ariel was on her phone the whole time.

Ariel: Oh my God!

Hamish: The art conversation has sort of been lost. If you look at prohibition [of alcohol], that obviously didn’t work. I think Ariel and most of her peers are probably not going to jump off social media.

Kayla: Do you think the ban is beneficial?

Hamish: I think the work of the eSafety Commissioner is great. It’s a really thorny, difficult problem, and I’m not sure if legislation was the answer, but we needed a circuit-breaker. Elena, who is nine, is in that age group where Roblox is like crack cocaine. And we all have heard about what happens on Roblox – it’s interesting that’s not being controlled as well.

Cristina: I think you have to give a little bit. That’s why Ariel started to use it early, but she’s the one who asked me permission. I don’t like the amount of time she spends on it, but I trust her to judge what she does and what she watches.

Elena: You don’t trust me?

Cristina: No, I don’t know about Roblox.

Kayla: Have you been successful in evading the ban?

Ariel: Yes, I got the Snapchat age verification and passed it.

Cristina: She went out and put on a little bit of makeup, and they accepted her.

Hamish: How old did it think you were?

Ariel: 17.

Hamish, Cristina and Elena: 17!?

Ariel: It just asked me to look left, right and up and down, and then I just wrinkled up my face a lot.

Elena: I’ve heard some of my friends use their Barbie dolls to do it, and they got through it.

Kayla: Do you agree with the ban?

Hamish: I think I would like to use it as a way of limiting screen time. I’ve said this to everyone, but I feel like the tech bros have kind of stolen my family because everyone is on their screens the whole time.

Elena: He calls them “tech bros”.

Hamish: Earlier on, there were all sorts of petitions going around on WhatsApp and stuff to lobby Canberra to do something. So everyone’s for them, and then there’s a little bit of parent-shaming. You sort of feel like you failed parenting if your kids are glued to Snapchat.

Kayla: How will it affect life at home?

Hamish: I think it’ll be great!

Cristina: Hamish would love it. We would probably have to find something in common to watch.

Elena: I do know that Ariel and I like watching a Netflix series called Baby-Sitters Club together.

Australians under 16 have woken up to a world-first social media ban this morning.

Hamish: Even talking, having a conversation, like we’re talking now – it’s quite a rare thing.

Kayla: Elena, Ariel, what will you do in your spare time?

Elena: Messenger Kids isn’t banned, so my friends are on that. I’ll also do what I did back when I was 5, like watch TV, play with my mum or dad, go outside, to the pool and the park.

Hamish: Wow, can’t wait for this!

Ariel: I’ll probably text people using what’s not banned, watch Netflix, hang out more with people or read. I think I will probably start picking up more hobbies.

Cristina: Ariel and Elena both really like reading, and they are doing that less because of social media.

Hamish: Something that I’ve been trying to encourage them to do, and this ban will probably help, is to start following the news and current events and realise there are trusted sources of news.

Elena: Most parents say, ‘Oh, you’re so addicted to your phone!’ And no offence to dad or mum, but whenever I wake up and say, ‘Good morning, dad’ – and I know he’s reading the news – but that’s still on your phone! And he brings his phone to the toilet, and he sits in bed watching Netflix and YouTube.

Hamish: Oh, OK, so you can go on your phone and read The Sydney Morning Herald? That’s not part of the ban.

Elena: Yeah, but that still makes your eyes square.

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