The Future of my Life on the Internet
Wow, I can't believe I'm actually writing this. I REALLY hope nothing too bad happens, but I would rather be prepared if something particularly bad DOES happen than to be completely unprepared if that comes to pass. This is gonna be a long one, so if you care about Australian Internet access or about me personally, buckle in.
On December 10 2025, the Australian government is going to start enforcing its so-called "social media ban" for young teens. Platforms will now be forced to kick out any users below 16 years old, and it seems like various platforms are also going to enforce this through age verification systems, such as what we're seeing in the UK and some US states.
As an Australian Internet user, I have expressed grave concerns about this. There are several reasons for why this is a terrible idea. I even have a personal stake in this, because I was very close to becoming like the victims of this policy - I grew up in a household that when new people entered, things grew concerning - I am well into adulthood, but before I started living on my own, I happened to live in a household owned by people with shallow, ignorant perceptions of the Internet, who thought it was something bad and needed to be restricted in its use. Because I, an Autistic person with OCD who struggled to connect with people offline, was "living in my own world" and "needed to get out more". Fuck asking why I developed depression and anxiety, blame it all on my only safe way of connecting with the outside world! It was a tense time too, because I was starting to realise just how much my household was starting to buy into dangerous, pseudoscientific ideas like anti-vaccine sentiments. The Internet gave me tools to learn about the truth, instead of uncritically going along with whatever was asked of me.
People focus so much on the bad that comes out of the Internet. And yes, there is a LOT of bad. But for many people, especially if we're queer and/or disabled, it's the only thing keeping us from isolation. In my case, it's the only place where I maintain deep, consistent connections with other people. When I see this new law about to be enforced, I cannot help but think not just of how people like me would be feeling, but how this is so much worse than what I went through.
Because now it's not just a bunch of parents or guardians who think they know best and refuse to listen to you. Now it's an entire government and its cheerleaders, whether it be ignorant and controlling parents, lobbyists, or biased news media owned by people harmful agendas like Rupert Murdoch. For every young person being radicalised into fascist ideology online, there's several more who are learning about themselves and finding information important to them and the world around them, learning not just things about themselves that are refused to be told to them by the people around them, but also an avenue to learn about others' experiences and to understand their perspectives.
So firstly, to all of the queer teens. To all the disabled and/or neurodivergent teens. To all the teens of any marginalised backgrounds. To all the teens trapped in toxic or abusive living environments. I feel your pain. I lived a very mild version of what is about to be pushed on the whole country, and the trauma of what I experienced not only haunts me to this day, but has damaged my relationships with most of my family. For someone who has it worse than I did back a decade ago, I can't imagine how much despair you must feel when this starts to be enforced.
I'm not just disappointed, or sad, or angry. I know what this is REALLY about.
The word is an increasingly tumultuous place. Australia might be well off compared to many places, but that doesn't mean global issues still aren't affecting us. Climate change. Our governments continuously acting against our own interests. Our governments supporting atrocities in other countries. I could go on.
I really don't think it's a coincidence this law is going to be enforced when we see more and more young people dissatisfied with the state of the world. Climate activists, inspired by people like Greta Thunberg. More youth gaining the tools to realise they're queer. I think one of the biggest ones is the genocide in Palestine. Seeing how Western governments will so shamelessly lie and defend Israel as it not only commits one of the greatest crimes of the 21st century, but OPENLY BRAGS ABOUT IT no doubt made people realise that we're run by monsters.
Do you know how many young people learn about issues like climate change? About being queer? About being trans? About how the governments who are supposed to represent us are not only complicit in genocides in other countries, but actively supporting the military industrial complex that fuels them? Social media, and similar online platforms.
Yes, there are many problems with social media. And of course, many people are radicalised into reactionary thinking. But so much of that comes down to how the media establishment and our politicians continue to obfuscate these issues, and how subsequently people rely on algorithms to browse social media, where they can become fed constant misinformation and disinformation. Bad actors will present easy solutions to complex problems. It's a very real issue. But the solution is NOT to deny young people's agency. Instead of punishing the users, we need to hold those in power accountable. Politicians. Media companies. Social media platforms.
But as much as online platforms try to push people in certain directions, many of us know how to look for the truth, and care about other human beings, and not buy whatever nonsense pops up on your feed just because they look or sound credible. Even as social media and tech companies are beholden to the same corporate interests as every other part of capitalism, people still manage to find ways to spread awareness of the issues that really matter, and get people to care about what is truly important.
Point being, for all the bullshit social media wants to shove down our throats, people will still find ways to spread truth and compassion, and because so many young people use social media, that is how a lot of us get that information. There's lots of misinformation and disinformation online, but the reason people are being drawn to that is because our existing media institutions are failing us. People realise they're beholden to corporate interests, and will just straight up lie about certain things to push certain agendas if they have to. And despite everything, some people have effectively managed to spread awareness of important issues through social media. The climate crisis, the genocides in Palestine, Sudan, Congo, and many more issues have gained more awareness because information is able to spread through social media.
My point here? The government sees how more people are dissatisfied with the status quo, and how people are looking to where to not only communicate with each other and learn from each other, but share that information. Especially with issues like Palestine, they see how the truth has spread online and they are afraid. So they want to stamp that out, and what better way to do that than to get people when they're young? And also force them to give up their privacy too, no less.
There's lots of reasons the government and the corporations they lick the boots of have to fear the masses. Rising inequality as the rich continue to get richer while more people end up in poverty every day. Everything getting more expensive while the average person makes less money. A climate crisis where action keeps being delayed because our government is beholden to fossil fuel companies. More people learning about themselves and refusing to conform to expected roles through being queer, being trans, being neurodivergent. Already marginalised groups becoming even more marginalised.
There's a reason the government keeps growing more authoritarian. More police everywhere, and more police gaining special powers. Making life harder for homeless people and welfare recipients, aka some of the most vulnerable in our society. More laws criminalising protestors. More punitive laws to those they deem as breaking the law. And of course, further control of our communications technology, through eroding our privacy and restricting people's access to certain information.
This "social media ban" and the age verification system that will come with it is not only the latest step in this increasing authoritarian streak, but a critical one. Because if you lock out young people, you can control the information they can access. There's a reason the Murdoch press was one of the big cheerleaders of this policy - because they have an agenda. They see more young people refuse to buy into their climate change denialism, their rampant racism and xenophobia, their fueling of culture wars (I'm pretty sure they've imported the panic around trans kids from the US and UK, for one), among other things. So if they lock young people out of social media, it means they're more likely to be able to push their desired narratives onto them.
And as a bonus, everyone has to prove they're old enough to use social media too by giving up sensitive personal information. Information that corporations also happen to benefit from, because data sells. We already saw the Discord hack in regards to the UK's version of this, where countless online IDs were leaked to hackers. So it's not even making the internet safer - posting more data about yourself does the opposite. Remember back in the day when the safe thing to do online was to keep anonymity and post as little personal information about as possible? Hardly relevant anymore. And ironically, social media companies pushed it that way, because data sells. And while the Australian government tries to frame itself as fighting against the big tech corporations, they're just giving them more tools to harvest our data.
On the topic of "online safety", the Australian government is run by tech illiterate buffoons. They have straight up admitted that users on social media platforms when logged out can still see content. Content that is algorithmically geared to them based on their online activity. Algorithms that are known to push harmful agendas like hate speech and disinformation. They might say "oh that's clearly an issue with the platform"... which yeah, it very clearly is. But you're actively making it less safe for users to be exposed to this content if they can't log in and learn to curate their feeds. You're making it MORE likely they will run into harmful content, not less. Oh, and the lack of consistency and coherency in what websites they're going to make enforce the "ban" is comical. YouTube is affected, but not Roblox? Fucking hell.
You know what would actually make the Internet safer? Many things, actually. Holding the corporations accountable for misinformation and disinformation that spreads. Stopping predatory practices and scams that could entice people into spending more money than they're prepared to. Address WHY people are bullied or victimised instead of pretending like the forces behind why don't exist. Cracking down on the plague that is advertising.
But most of all? Teaching young people how to actually be safe online. Things like why privacy is important, how to properly engage with things. Basic critical thinking skills. And for parents? Make it so that your kids feel comfortable enough to be able to talk to you in the first place. You're parents, do some actual parenting. Teach your kid what is safe online. Don't try and restrict and control what they do, but healthily guide them. Don't judge them for any concerning content they run into or engage with, but be open to them and try to understand them. Basically, let your kids feel HEARD. LISTENED TO.
But nope! Technology bad, social media bad, so let's just restrict it for teenagers! What if they turn trans? What if they turn queer? What if they start realising our society is kind of messed up? What if they realise our government is supporting genocide elsewhere? This "social media ban" is typical condescension and refusal to understand from older generations towards younger ones. It's a reactionary gesture to make the government look like it cares and is doing something to "protect the children". But just like all times people in power seek to "protect the children", what they really mean is to CONTROL them. And as I have demonstrated, not control not just young people, but ALL OF US. They're paving the way for fascism to rise, and they know it.
With this massive rant out of the way, I should now explain what I plan to do in response to this.
Firstly, I am aiming to keep staying informed. Looking for digital rights and civil liberties groups that are rightfully concerned about this new legislation.
But the bigger question, and what people who know me likely want to know... what will I be doing regarding my social media presence?
I've thought about how to go about this for months now. My current plan is that if I am able to keep engaging online like I normally do, I will. But if the government makes things hard and I'm unable to find any ways around their roadblocks to stay here, I am prepared for the possibility I could be locked out of many platforms I use.
With my current knowledge and how things seem to be now, I'm not too concerned about that happened. But it is a possibility I am prepared for.
If anyone who knows me wishes to keep in contact with me in case anything happens, I have my DMs open on all platforms, and set so that anyone should be able to message me. I even made my tumblr DMs open fully. I'm willing to withstand a bunch of bots and spam if it means people are able to reach out to me in these increasingly uncertain times. You are free to message me (preferably before the 10th in case of, well, you know), and I am willing to provide you with details to contact me in case I am unable to keep being online the way I normally would.
These are increasingly uncertain times, and I hope people are prepared for whatever happens. But don't comply. Show the government why this is a terrible idea. Speak out about this. We need to put a stop on this authoritarian march to our doom, and at some point we have to put our foot down and say no.
Fuck capitalism. No war but the class war. All cops are bastards. Free Palestine. Free Sudan. Free Congo. None of us are free until all of us are free.
