Social Media and Young People

A Global Debate

Recent actions by the Australian Government and New Zealand’s B416 group have ignited crucial debates about when, how and if social media is beneficial for our students’ development. Echoed across dinner tables, TikToks, and talkback radio, this debate is overdue – and not just in New Zealand. This is a global debate.

This is more than a moral panic about new technology. The difference with social media is the scale, the targeting via the neuropsychology behind the design and the consequences of these platforms: sophisticated algorithms are designed specifically to capture and hold attention. Consequently, this is fundamentally about child wellbeing and what is best for young people’s development. As educators, we see firsthand the impact of digital environments on children’s learning, social development, and mental health.

Focusing on Child Development Over Binary Debates

Ultimately, there is a moral imperative here: we need solutions that put children’s developmental needs first. As an educator, I am not taking a political position nor am I engaging in binary language.  This conversation isn’t about technology versus no technology; it is about age-appropriate technology and helping children develop healthy digital habits from the start. It is about laying the foundation for a generation to use technology without being used by it. We need to move beyond the ‘ban or no ban’ debate to ask deeper questions: What do children need from digital platforms? How do we support healthy development in a digital world?

Fundamentally, this boils down to one question – what children need to thrive. What does a 10-year-old need?  What does a 12-year-old need? What does a 14-year-old need?  How is a 16-year-old prepared for their future?

This is a societal challenge that requires collaboration between technology companies, and policymakers, schools and families. We need to work together to find solutions, through industry changes and legislation, education and family choices.

Corporate Responsibility and the Science of Developing Brains

I do personally believe that tech companies have a responsibility to consider the developmental needs of their youngest users. These platforms are designed to be addictive – that’s their business model. We need age-appropriate design standards and genuine consideration of how these products affect developing brains. I have been advocating for this since 2017 when I was the President of the Girls Schools Association in the GSA – this debate has been around for some time but is becoming increasingly compelling as evidence-based research of the sort being undertaken by Dr Danielle Einstein comes to light. She and other clinical psychologists and neuroscientists would argue that the developing brains of our young people are not yet equipped to regulate the intense stimuli of social media which in turn impacts on sleep, learning, and social development. This isn’t about being anti-technology – we’re an Apple Distinguished School – it is about age-appropriate technology use.

Beyond Legislation: Individual and Family Responsibility

That said, the conversation should not just be about legislation – it should also be about corporate responsibility at the macro-level of societal conversation around the greater or common good and at the micro-level of individual families and parents taking ownership of their own parenting styles and expectations. The role of the school in this piece is to ensure families have the support and information they need to make the best decisions for their children. As educators, our job is to champion healthy development.

Our Approach: Thoughtful Technology Integration

As an Apple Distinguished School, we align with other schools committed to leadership and educational excellence. We do this through measured, thoughtful use of technology and age-appropriate curriculum integration. To build on best practice, we appointed a Digital Innovation Specialist who, from January this year, has ensured that we are cohesive and considered in our approach. Staff are continually trained in the digital realm, including attending best-practice global conferences.

St Cuthbert’s continues to work constructively with our community with regard to social media and digital wellbeing. This is important because we see some of the negative effects of social media played out in school around sleep, learning, mental health, social development. What we’re seeing in our classrooms are some students coming to school very tired because of excessive screentime and the associated lack of sleep. Our families tell us that their young ones are sometimes binge-watching reality TV. Students admit to us that they have trouble focusing since they are attempting to multi-task across multiple platforms often on multiple devices. We see social tensions manifested at school which are purely driven by things that happened at 9pm the night before on a group chat. Our question isn’t whether these platforms can cause harm – it’s how we best protect children while they are still developing critical thinking and emotional regulation skills.

Building Digital Citizenship

So, it is appropriate that we teach our students to be thoughtful, responsible digital citizens in the virtual space as we support them in becoming virtuous citizens in the physical realm. We take a comprehensive, proactive approach to digital citizenship education; it is part of our curriculum in our Junior and Senior Schools; we use programmes like the Common Sense Education Digital Citizenship programme. It also includes online safety education which in part is delivered in partnership with the local police so that our students are made aware of the law in this regard: Constable Gordon is a legend in Year 5!

Innovation in Practice: Age-Appropriate Solutions

Moreover, looking at innovative practice elsewhere, and in this instance acknowledging the work of Pymble Ladies College in Sydney, we are piloting our CuthSmart phone with One New Zealand to provide age-appropriate device configurations for children. Tools should meet children where they are, not where the tech industry wishes they were. So, we work with families on a case-by-case basis, helping them understand platform settings, and supporting gradual transitions where appropriate.

The School’s Educational Role

A school’s role is education and as educators, we focus on what’s best for children’s learning and development. I believe schools have an important role in the conversation and we need to advocate for children’s development. It’s complex because we’re entering territory that has traditionally been considered the domain of parents. We absolutely respect that families make different choices. Our job is to ensure all families have access to current research, practical tools, and ongoing support. Informed choice only works if people are actually informed!

Consequently, since my arrival as Principal, we are focused on providing parents with the tools, information, and community support they need to navigate these choices. To that end, we have created regular opportunities for community conversation to support our parents’ education about digital wellbeing. This has included running regular parent information sessions in various formats to keep families informed about digital trends and safety, presented by independent, external experts in technology and parenting: The Parenting Place; psychologist Dr Danielle Einstein, and internal expertise on parenting which has been research-led and evidence-based.

Respecting Family Choice While Providing Support

As mentioned above, we absolutely respect that families make different decisions. Our role is not to make those decisions for families; rather it to ensure that all parents have access to current research, practical tools, and ongoing support to make informed choices.  Good choices start with good information; our job is to equip, not dictate. The sort of question that we are challenging our parents to consider is: ‘what do children actually need to develop healthy friendships and social skills?’ and to then work back from there. In our experience, children thrive when they are confident, make connections, have friends and face-to-face interactions, use creative play, and have opportunities to develop real-world problem-solving skills; these things can and do get crowded out by endless scrolling.

We hope that we can meet families where they are in this is uncertain complex and evolving space, with understanding and compassion, walking alongside families in solidarity to support transitions, not issue ultimatums.

Call to Action: Working Together for Solutions

So, to conclude where I began. Tech companies need to and must come to the table. Platforms engineered for profit aren’t neutral spaces. Age-appropriate design shouldn’t be revolutionary – it should be standard. That said, this is a societal challenge that requires all of us, schools, families, policymakers, and tech companies, working together. Ultimately, whether change comes through Parliament, platforms, or parenting, the priority must be protecting children’s wellbeing and developmental needs.

Our Commitment: Learning and Growing Together

As a school, we do not and do not pretend to have all the answers, but we are not waiting for a mandate nor the perfect solution; rather we are building digital literacy and starting to host community conversation through discussion with our students and their parents. By engaging with experts so that we ensure evidence-based decision-making over ideology, we’re supporting families with information and tools, as well as collaborating with other schools since no one school can solve this alone. Necessarily, we are learning too from listening to and participating in all these conversations to develop community led solutions.

So, we are on the journey with our parents. We believe in interaction, and we welcome suggestions for what we could do better: if a parent says we’re not doing enough, they might be right. So let’s talk about it – which is precisely what this thought piece is doing!