'Lucky to have escaped unharmed': Teens react to proposed social media ban

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will introduce legislation before May to raise the age from 13, with an age undecided but it is expected to be between 14 and 16.

Lucy, not her real name, a 19-year-old from Albury-Wodonga has been calling for the minimum age to be raised to 16 after watching the devastating impact social media has had on her 13-year-old sister.

"Before my younger sister was diagnosed with anorexia at age 13, I saw social media as a friendly place where I could view fun pictures and videos," she said.

"Now, I realise that it has adversely affected her by allowing the promotion of anorexia through its distorted and depraved content."

The endless cycle of 'thinspo' content, material that promotes or encourages unhealthy body goals and disordered eating, has been something Lucy had noticed since she joined social media when she was 13, but she has grown out of it.

"Now I'm 19, I feel lucky to have escaped relatively unharmed, but many of my peers, like my sister, have not," she said.

The teenager said blaming parents for not keeping their child off social media was unrealistic because creating a social media account had never been easier.

While her sister was now in recovery, Lucy worries a relapse is "just one click away".

"My brothers never fell into this trap, but they're more into gaming anyway," she said.

"My parents won't let my sister use social media and while I do as it helps with my studies, I'm very careful not to use it around her, or even talk about it."

Lucy is one of more than 116,000 signatures to sign the '36-month raising the age' for social media change.org petition.

The petition calls for government action to remove children from social media as they continue to develop and grow as adolescents.

36-month petition co-founder and radio personality Michael "Wippa" Wipfli said Mr Albanese's announcement was a great start but there was more to be done.

"It's huge, we're yet to know the details, but at least we have something firm that feels like we're moving forward in the right direction," Mr Wipfli said.

He said seeing the Prime Minister take leadership in creating change was positive.

"Our job now is to continue to push for the age to be 16, that kids can't become citizens of a social media platform prior to that age," he said.

"And that will save lives, it'll unite a whole lot of families and it'll give kids an opportunity to grow in the right way they should."

RMIT University associate professor Dana McKay said social media had become a de-facto public space where children could communicate with friends and family in a way that may otherwise be impossible.

"Banning children from social media is a blunt instrument that ignores the social benefits children get from having direct communication with their friends," she said.

"While there are risks inherent to social media, these risks could be addressed by regulating social media, rather than children."

She said the problems on social media can be targeted without denying children access to connecting with the world, and organisations have a role to play.

"Many of the problems can already be addressed: minimising advertising, detecting and addressing harmful interactions through behavioural analytics for example," she said.

"The answer to the challenge of social media and kids isn't banning kids from one of the final remaining [social media public spaces] available to them; it's making those [spaces] safer."