The United States government is set to ban TikTok unless the company’s owner can find a buyer, while in Australia, one state is considering a social media ban for under-16-year-olds . Should New Zealand follow suit? And should Kiwi parents be worried about their kids using TikTok? A New Zealand-based expert weighs in and shares practical tips for parents and teens. Recent research shows Kiwi kids spend about a third of their time outside of school on screens , while a nationwide cellphone ban in New Zealand schools aims to reduce distractions in the classroom.
Experts around the world fear excessive time online is negatively affecting young people’s mental health , leading to growing calls to ban or restrict social media use among kids and teens. Social media expert Katie Brown isn’t convinced banning apps like TikTok is the answer. Brown is the founder and CEO of Te Ao Matihiko and Social Good, as well as the representative for Facebook owner Meta in Aotearoa.
She advocates for Māori in technology and led the Unite Against Covid-19 campaign during the pandemic. “If it’s about safety, it doesn’t fix the issue that’s at the heart of it, which is that some bad actors are putting bad information out there that people can have access to on any platform,” she tells the NZ Herald . “So, we need to really get to the heart of where those people are coming from, trying to stop that from even happening, but also equipping our young people with the tools that they ne.
