Social media summit looks to community to strike the right balance

Member for Gosford Liesl Tesch is inviting the community to share their experiences, concerns and suggestions regarding social media use ahead of the Social Media Summit.

The Summit is a two-day joint initiative between the NSW and South Australian governments on October 10 and 11.

Tesch will be making a submission on behalf of the people of Gosford and has encouraged the Central Coast community to have their say ahead of the summit.

“I often hear from our community about increasing concerns of the harmful effects of social media, particularly on young people, and the negative impacts on individuals’ mental health from social media,” she said.

“However, it is clear that social media can also bring great positivity, bringing communities together and sharing important information.

“This summit isn’t about fearmongering, but rather bringing together our community to ensure that we strike the right balance in making informed policy decisions that reflect the needs and concerns of citizens moving forward.

“Like all things, social media has positive and negative impacts on our lives.

“From my experience, social media is an amazing way of sharing information with our community, seeing what matters to locals and connecting with Coasties.

“However, I, like a lot of our community, have also seen the negative, experiencing significant abuse and witnessing distressing content across the platform.

“As policymakers, it is critical that we seek feedback from across our community to understand this impact, ensuring that future policy decisions are guided by comprehensive evidence.”

The Social Media Summit comes as research has shown that children who spent more than three hours a day on social media were twice as likely to experience poor mental health, including depression and anxiety.

Studies have also found a link between social media use, stress and sleep deprivation.

“Resolving the issues associated with social media is beyond the abilities of individual households, these are issues that we must join together to tackle as a community,” Tesch said.

“As with any big change with technology, these issues can feel insurmountable.

“For example, when we announced a ban of mobile phones in public schools, there was a backlash from students, who couldn’t imagine being removed from their phones.

“Now, 12 months on, schools have reported the resounding success of this program.

“When we tackle these issues head on together, effective change can be made.”

The Social Media Summit will bring together a diverse group of experts, policymakers, academics, young people and the wider community to explore key areas including the impacts of social media on children, online safety, social media’s role in disinformation and misinformation, addressing online hate and extremism, and how social media is changing the way government delivers services.

To have your say complete the survey; visit social media summit 2024 (liesltesch.com.au)

For more information about the summit visit www.nsw.gov.au/socialmediasummit