It is important for me to outline the changing landscape we are seeing for young people on social media and the impact recommender algorithms are having on them. In my generation, when we went into secondary school we still had phones where you could call and text people and that was the extent of it. By the time we were in junior certificate, everyone had a smartphone. Everyone had Instagram and everyone had Snapchat. The entire landscape of being a teenager completely changed at that point. That was a time when if you went on Facebook you only saw what your friends posted. When you went on Instagram you saw your best friends’ posts of their day out with their friends, some event they were at or some trip they took with their family. It was wholesome, warm and a great space to be in and it was exciting as a teenager because we could see all of the good things our friends were doing. You could have easy access to your friends and easy communication. Do not get me wrong. That brought severe issues for young people. It brought severe bullying and issues of social pressure to post on these platforms. Teenagers do everything they can to try to fit in, so everyone partook. The real issue is that since 2014 or 2015, TikTok has taken off and all mainstream social media platforms have adopted essentially rabbit-hole algorithms where young people can get funnelled into an ideology and do not even know why they agree with what they are agreeing with. Naturally, the further down the rabbit hole you go the more dangerous it gets. It pushes you to more extreme points of view because that is what holds your attention and that is what holds you on the platform. The problem is that whatever your initial belief is you end up pursuing a further and more extreme belief because the algorithm will push you down that rabbit hole so far that you continue to engage with it. To the point that people sometimes will not appreciate or engage with other points of view because hardened lines are drawn, what is important here is our teenagers and young people need to have an opportunity to grow up in a world where they can form their own opinions and ideas and critically think about and evaluate what is in front of them. The landscape before them right now is not fit for that and the landscape is pushing this toxic material in front of them and ultimately leading them to engage with it more. The companies have a responsibility but as legislators we have to protect our young people. In Galway East there is a company called Think Smart digital run by Aoife Noone. She is engaging with communities across Galway East and the broader country. She holds events to educate parents on what is happening on the phones of their teenagers. She has sold out ten halls across Galway East for between 100 and 300 people. Parents have no idea what is going on inside the bedrooms of their children on the phone. The parents do not have a clue about the information there and some of the material they are exposed to because the parents did not grow up in that world. They only know the world in front of them on their phone but the phone their child is experiencing could be completely different. It is vital that this Government supports the education of parents so that parents can help to put safeguards in place for their own children as well, and can have open and honest conversations with their children about the material they have been exposed to, are being exposed to, stuff being sent around the school or incidents that have happened in the school. I do not know if that is happening at the moment, and I do not know if parents realise the extent of how bad it is. I know Coimisiún na Meán is a positive establishment, and I know it will be outlining how the Digital Services Act at European level will be introduced and rolled out here at Irish level. However, it is important that we show leadership and lead from the front. We need to seriously consider a ban on social media for under 16s. It has to be considered. Australia showed leadership on it. France has followed suit. Why would Ireland not step up to say it will protect its young people and get them off these toxic platforms? I am not saying that the platforms are entirely toxic either. There is a lot of good content and a lot of great ways to connect with like-minded people. It is about making sure there is fairness on the landscape.

Sentiment score: 0.15