Online safety requires more than a social media ban

Wednesday, 24 June 2026

Young people do not thrive when decisions are made about them without them, writes Jo Malcolm Black.

Jo Malcolm Black is chief executive of Life Education.

OPINION: Working with children and young people has been at the centre of my professional life over the last 30 years. While working in Australia, it was common to hear the saying among social workers and youth workers, “Nothing about us without us”, which can be traced back to political history, but hits at the core of what we owe to the next generation.

As I step into the role of chief executive of Life Education Trust NZ, the issue feels especially urgent: how we support tamariki and rangatahi to navigate the digital world with confidence, rather than simply trying to lock them out of it.

The current debate around social media bans for under-16s is important, but it must be part of a much broader conversation about how we prepare young people for the world they are already living in. Young people do not thrive when decisions are made about them without them.

In my experience, when tamariki and rangatahi are informed, listened to, and trusted, they are more likely to engage honestly, understand risk, and make positive choices.

Young people should be partners in shaping solutions, not simply subjects of restriction. If we want them to make safe, informed decisions online, we need to give them opportunities to practise those decisions, understand consequences, build judgement, and know where to turn for support.

Any long-term strategy must take a strengths-based approach, one that protects children from harm while also equipping them with the tools, confidence, and resilience to participate safely in the digital world they are growing up in.

Stronger protections and clearer expectations for technology companies are an important part of that response. To be clear, young people should not be expected to carry the full burden of navigating platforms that are designed and controlled by adults and global businesses, or to be able to interpret their intentions.

At the same time, regulation needs to sit alongside education, prevention, and practical support, so tamariki and rangatahi are not only protected from harm, but are also equipped to make safe, informed decisions in the digital world they are growing up in.

This approach resonates deeply with the work we do at Life Education Trust because the goal cannot simply be to remove access. It must also be to build capability, connection, and resilience.

Across Aotearoa, teachers and whānau are seeing the pressures tamariki and rangatahi face in an increasingly digital world. These pressures show up in classrooms through online bullying, anxiety, and the distraction of personal devices, all of which can affect learning, wellbeing, and belonging.

The proposal to restrict social media access for young people under 16 comes from a place of care, and Life Education Trust supports stronger protections for young people online. However, a blanket ban risks oversimplifying a complex issue.

Social media can expose young people to harm, including online bullying, harmful content, anxiety, and unrealistic comparisons, but for some young people it can also provide connection, identity affirmation, community, and access to support, particularly for those who may feel isolated or marginalised offline. We ignore that at our peril.

Across Aotearoa, schools, whānau, and community organisations all have a role to play in helping tamariki and rangatahi develop the social and emotional skills that underpin digital safety.

Critical thinking, emotional regulation, respectful relationships, empathy, online safety awareness, and the confidence to seek help when something does not feel right are not optional extras. They are essential life skills, and they need to be developed early, consistently, and in partnership with the young people they are intended to support.

As curriculum reform continues, we must keep the focus firmly on the whole child, because wellbeing is not separate from learning. It is foundational to learning, belonging, and thriving.

Stronger protections, clearer platform accountability, safer design standards, and effective regulation all have an important role to play, but they must sit alongside education, prevention, and shared responsibility.

If we want young people in Aotearoa to be safe and to thrive in a digital world, we need to move beyond quick fixes and invest in the skills, support, and resilience they need for life.