All over the world countries are currently debating a move towards improved regulation of social media for children under the age of 16 - the UK, the USA, Australia (36months.com.au) are cases in point.

Why? Because children are suffering from mental health issues as a result of social media. The data is becoming clearer and clearer.

Who is fighting against this move for better regulation? The social media companies, that have millions of $ to lose if such moves take place. 

What is New Zealand doing? As far as I can tell, nothing so far. 

If there was a toy/food that was proven to cause mental distress in children it would be pulled from the shelves. If the same item was proven to have caused the loss of life - it would be banned. Why is this same logic not being applied to social media?

My son's mental health degraded in the 6 months he had access to social media (at age 13) from being a happy, confident, sports-loving boy to being depressed, self-harming and suicidal. This is not an isolated case; studies have shown that early exposure to social media can negatively impact young teens' mental health. According to a report by the Royal Society for Public Health, social media use has been linked with increased rates of anxiety, depression, and poor sleep among teenagers.

Raising the minimum age for social media citizenship from 13 to 16 years will help protect our children during their critical developmental years. It will give them more time to develop emotional maturity before facing the pressures of online interactions.

Please join me in urging NZ lawmakers and social media companies to take this crucial step towards safeguarding our children's mental well-being. Let's at least get the conversation started. Sign this petition today.