My submission to the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 [Provisions] inquiry

When they give you 24 hours to respond to an enquiry, you don’t have time to do the referenced researched work of an advocacy organisation, so you smash out something, so in true “egirl and activist” form, here’s what I just sent in:

To the Committee

I have lived, worked and socialised in online places since 2000. As an older teenager, I met lifelong friends on early forums, including people who were younger than the 16 year old proposed social media ban age. Most of these young people could hold their own online then, and most teenagers these days are more literate in social media and online safety than older adults. They are able to access information to help them navigate life through online services. Forums like the ones I accessed as a teen and now ones that are serving the same function on social media sites are a lifeline to marginalised young people. It is where young queer kids can access information on what life can be like outside of heteronormative suburban Australia. It is where young people with mental health issues can access support and information about how to support themselves and their peers. It’s where young carers can access support for roles they are thrown into way too early. It’s also just a place to have fun, explore interests, and learn to be yourself.

Yes, children and adults use social media to bully others. But people have managed to do that in other formats and “IRL” (in real life) as long as we’ve existed. There’s always an other, and those others – the queer kid, the Autistic teen, the otherwise different kid – will often be bullied, and online worlds are where they are able to find their kin and often find safety and know they are not alone.

My 15 year old nephew is autistic and has used social media – mostly Instagram and Facebook – as a way to explore his interests and has developed many skills and his language has developed greatly this way.

My 13 year old niece has reassured me that teenagers will find ways to communicate with each other in positive and negative ways even with any bans brought in – whether this is by lying about ages, by getting their parents to sign them into things, or just making new ways to communicate and finding new apps that escape regulation.

As an adult, I’m wary of giving over personal details to multiple companies based all over the world in order to continue to keep in touch with friends and colleagues. My work is based online, and I use X, Bluesky and Facebook daily in that work. Work that helps support marginalised adults and children in the welfare system. Social media is a literal lifeline for many poor people who, with a basic smartphone, can now access support and information for their disabilities, to escape violence, to deal with bureaucracy, to access food banks, and much more. This is not support that should be kept from someone because they are under 16 or don’t have or want to share their identifying documents with international companies.

Security breaches of trusted companies such as Optus left many who normally wouldn’t think twice about whether it was safe to give such information over questioning whether their identities were safe.

A social media ban for under 16s is unworkable and potentially harmful to young people who will lose access to support networks and resources. Yes, there is harm done online, but harm is done everywhere, and by driving kids underground you are not going to protect them.

 

This bill should not be passed, full stop.

Kind regards

Fiona Moore

e-girl and activist

phonakins.com

Send something in if you can here.

A template that might help you:

Do you find my posts interesting? Please share them and consider supporting my efforts with a one-off or monthly dono.

Love me some fake Mint Slice bikkies, but that Foodbank offering needs some actual food

Who doesn’t love them some carbs? Well, coeliacs and other gluten intolerant people would have a hard time with this basket of goodies Dutton showed off over the weekend. As would anyone who’s just relying on whatever comes in their $5 or $10 hamper this week. One thing about the hampers is while they are technically “value for money” and can have like $100 of food in them if it was in date at at retail price, you don’t get a choice of what to get, and while you can make up some meals, there’s plenty missing. Often it’s proteins – you might get some tuna or some chick peas, or it’s fresh items just aren’t there. Luck of the draw, or being able to get to the right place at the right time of the week and able to carry the items on public transport or have a car.

ABC are running a fundraising drive for Foodbank this week (month?) and the articles that have referenced it so far have not called for the obvious – an increase to the base rate of income support payments. This one uses the example of a disability pensioner who also works part time being a foodbank user. This story has older pensioners and talks about them supporting extended families when they can visit the foodbanks.

I’d like to thank Dutton for his foodbank visit this week. It allowed us to point out that Foodbanks often charge for their food. (the laws vary by state). It also let us discuss the lack of nutrition in the hamper he was holding, and how while this may fill a hungry belly, it’s no good long term. Some on twitter said it was the basis of meals and that then people could get their own meats or vegetables or other “Extras” needed to make a decent meal. Friends who’ve had malnutrition on welfare promptly went to remind them that if people are needing to get free pasta, they’re not likely to have money for meat or veges or anything fun like that.

The Christmas season is upon us, and I’d like to put out there that the hampers that your local charity is giving to the needy is usually paid for by the charity. Standard cost to the local charity is $25 for a Foodbank hamper. One local place is passing on $5 of that to the recipients this year. Another place told me last year they were passing on $20 of that to those who could afford it while giving some for free. I don’t know if the $35 ones that Foodbank is directly asking for donations for are different to that or not.

2023’s Foodbank hampers

So yeah, frustrated that the articles asking for Foodbank money donations don’t call for an increase in welfare payments. And that a girl can’t live off carbs alone.

 

Do you find my posts interesting? Please share them and consider supporting my efforts with a one-off or monthly dono.

OMG it’s just a fucking window display and Palestinian Jews and Muslims and Christians like Jesus are being slaughtered in tents

So yeah I fucking love Xmas frivolity. I have my tree up and will be getting all the Xmas tees and skirts and dresses out as soon as I have a couple days sunshine to pop them through the wash. If Mary was trying to make her way back to the right town for the census this year she’d be herded from on place to another and would be counting her blessings even more if she got a manger and wasn’t in a refugee tent with planes and drones and soldiers all around.

If I was in Melbourne I’d go look at the windows at Myer each year. It’s totally up my alley. But you know, it’s not ruining Xmas to have a protest interrupt the opening. If it ruins your Xmas to not see the windows on Sunday this weekend, then, wow. Wow is all I have for you.

Your kids won’t mind if they have to go next Saturday instead. Of after school. Or any other day up til early January when they take them down. But I don’t think they kids will be the ones sad about it and I feel like the kids have more compassion for the other kids their age around the world than any adult who’s kicking up a fuss about this.

The mass exodus to Bluesky makes me sad. I mean I guess I’ll end up there if that’s what happens but I’m holding on to twitter as long as I can. I fkn live there babes. And I was already planning on hosting the #PoveratiXmas giving tree across both sites, so look for that hype at the start of December and get your wishlists and mutual aid requests ready, and hopefully some secret santa-ing will happen. Again super worried it’ll be a flop, but people have told me that they’ve been enjoying putting their wishes down so that’s sweet.

But I’m also just gonna play more video games I think hah.

 

Do you find my posts interesting? Please share them and consider supporting my efforts with a one-off or monthly dono.

But I Don’t Wanna Quit Twitter

I mean quitting twitter isn’t what it was. Twitter isn’t what it was, but it’s still my base. (Aside from this blog, this is my base but Twitter is where I am most of the time). Quitting Twitter is a luxury, moving to another site with different people different rules. Or most of the same people, but less pesky arguments. Though it does seem like a bit of an auspol wankfest and there’s barely any mention of Palestine on Bluesky and other places. Might be because there’s still a lot of Palestinians using X to share that they’re still alive and their fundraisers and they don’t have that reach on any other site.

Maybe.

Don’t look away. If you are going to make your way to a new site, find the Palestinian voices there and amplify their stories and pictures and make sure they’re not forgotten because you want to be someplace nicer.

Ned Kelly / Hamas poster
Not sure where I got this, trying to find the artist

This week has been quiet, trying to rest, trying to just potter around the house, do my little chore, scream about my usual things online. Played some sims. Rolled some marbles. Read some news.

Trying to figure out my routine, keep my lil community.

 

Do you find my posts interesting? Please share them and consider supporting my efforts with a one-off or monthly dono.

You know some things just make you wanna scream but you’re tired?

CW Suicide and self harm etc

People are doing amazing work out there. The Antipoverty Centre filed their submission to the national Suicide Prevention Strategy. And it’s good. And you’ll read it and nod your head at the content and shake your head at the lack of action from governments and lip service from supposed support organisations. It’s here. There’s facts and stats and stories and it’s all there, screaming to governments to Rise the Rate of Welfare and build public housing and get rid of partner income tests to help people to get out of abusive situations and have independence within relationships. Agency is important and people are feeling helpless and are driven to despair. And suicide is certainly a more appealing option for some that continuing in a punitive welfare situation.

Thankyou for putting that together. And for acknowledging the frustration that people are experiencing with telling their stories over and over and pleading for the dignity of being listened to, when 2.5 years into government, they decide not to respond to the DSP inquiry since it’s been so damned long since the recommendations were made, which is certainly not one of the principles of TREATING PEOPLE WITH RESPECT that was recommended.

meanwhile, apparently social security debts from the seventies are fair game, even though 6 years was said to be plenty long back to expect people to defend debts. But you know, why respect the recommendations from millions of dollars and thousands or hours of paid and unpaid work by experts and lawyers and people on the ground. Fuck us, right?

It’s more than two years since that qanda episode where I got to ask about our dear Treasurer when things might get better, and really nothing has changed. Rent keeps going up, as does every other cost, including out of pocket GP expenses and more. But yeah. Go red team?

I’ve had to put some boundaries in place to help manage my sanity, I’m going to respect my bedtime and meds times more, even if that means other people have to do more for themselves.

 

Do you find my posts interesting? Please share them and consider supporting my efforts with a one-off or monthly dono.