Source: Radio New Zealand
There are calls for a ban on social media for under 16’s in New Zealand. (File photo) NurPhoto via AFP
Principals of two Auckland schools say they’ve had to hire counsellors specifically for dealing with the harm caused to children by social media.
The principal of East Auckland’s Riverina Primary School, Bryce Mills told Checkpoint children as young as eight were being exposed to extreme online content.
He said his school hired a counsellor to help deal with the damage and he was not the only one.
Auckland’s Whangaparāoa College had hired the equivalent of five school counsellors last year to help teenagers harmed by social media, it said.
It’s prompted calls to push through a ban on social media for under-16s.
It comes days after Parliament’s Education and Workforce Committee released its final report on the inquiry into the harm social media causes for young people, offering recommendations including banning under-16 year olds from social media.
Saasha Jolley is a teacher at Riverina Primary School and she regularly heard students talk about scrolling Instagram, Tiktok and Snapchat as well as gaming online the night before.
Primary school children were using social media apps like Instagram and Tiktok, a teacher said. (File photo) RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
“Roblox in particular is a big one at the moment, in terms of the chatter that happens, the games they have access to.
“I know that it’s both a platform for kids and adults, they can both access it, they can create the games on there, so I guess that makes it a lot more open.”
What the students see and hear online at night arrived with them at school the next day, she said, and they didn’t always understand what they were repeating.
“They heard it from their friend or they heard it from this person online, so they thought that it was okay to say.”
Last year, research from Te Mana Whakaatu the Classification Office, found young people don’t generally go looking for objectionable content.
But it could be hard to avoid when it came up on social media, in group chats, or was shown around in person.
Some examples of this included pornography and real-world violence.
Riverina Primary School principal Bryce Mills said similar content was being seen by children as young as eight at his school.
“There is the odd occasion unfortunately where you do hear some of that sexual stuff coming through as well,” he said.
The school of 150 students was self-funding its own online security system, which costed them $3000 each year.
But Mills said the school couldn’t control what the students saw once they went home for the day.
“I had a parent the other day say to me, that they got up at one in the morning to go to the bathroom and they could see a glowing light from a bedroom.
A child using the Roblox app. (File photo) MARIJAN MURAT
“Their daughter had gone out and got the phone off the dining room table and was on their phone.
“If they hadn’t gone up to go to the bathroom, they wouldn’t have known that. It [happens] behind those closed doors.”
The situation was similar at Auckland’s Whangaparāoa College.
Principal Steve McCracken said he had to hire the equivalent of five school counsellors last year to help teenagers harmed by social media.
It was costing the school hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“I think that it is largely driven by social media and what they see is cool, the people that they see online with rich backgrounds and fast cars and all the bling.”
Last year, Australia became the first country to implement a social media ban for under 16’s, blocking access to sites like TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.
Where to get help:
- Need to Talk? Free call or text 1737 any time to speak to a trained counsellor, for any reason
- Lifeline: 0800 543 354 or text HELP to 4357
- Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 / 0508 TAUTOKO. This is a service for people who may be thinking about suicide, or those who are concerned about family or friends
- Depression Helpline: 0800 111 757 or text 4202
- Samaritans: 0800 726 666
- Youthline: 0800 376 633 or text 234 or email talk@youthline.co.nz
- What’s Up: 0800 WHATSUP / 0800 9428 787. This is free counselling for 5 to 19-year-olds
- Asian Family Services: 0800 862 342 or text 832. Languages spoken: Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Hindi, and English.
- Rural Support Trust Helpline: 0800 787 254
- Healthline: 0800 611 116
- Rainbow Youth: (09) 376 4155
- OUTLine: 0800 688 5463
- Aoake te Rā bereaved by suicide service: or call 0800 000 053
If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
