eSafety Youth Council

eSafety Youth Council’s letter on the impacts of social media

In June 2024, eSafety Youth Council members submitted a letter to the Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society. The Council shared their insights and experiences on social media, including its benefits and risks to young people, their perspectives on the use of age verification, and the importance of including youth voice in conversations and decision-making that impacts them.

Listen to what the Council had to say and read the full submission.

Download the submission

The eSafety Youth Council gives young people, aged 13 to 24 years, an avenue to influence issues that matter most to them, by engaging in meaningful discussion and sharing their knowledge and experiences with eSafety. The Council was established in 2022 and offers an opportunity to share insights for policy and program design on online safety education and issues now and into the future.

The Council is made up of young people who have a range of lived experiences, come from various places across Australia and represent different gender identities and cultures. Read more about the current members in our Meet the eSafety Youth Council page.

The formation of the Council was informed by recommendations from Western Sydney University’s Youth engagement report, commissioned by eSafety and co-designed with young people. The research explored the online experiences of young Australians and inspired the development of the Youth aspirational statement.

There are many ways that young people can lead and influence change. 

The Council enables young people to have their say and offer a valuable perspective about the issues they face online. The diversity of the group encourages different points of view about online issues and industry, and these can be readily shared with eSafety and Government. eSafety is committed to prioritising youth insights, perspectives and aspirations. 

The Council have discussed and provided insights on:

• the role and influence of the eSafety Youth Council
• young people’s experiences with cyberbullying, online harassment, sexual exploitation and sexual extortion
• the barriers to reporting online harm for young people
• the impacts of age verification and age assurance mechanisms on young people
• the impacts of gaming on young people and their communities
• the influences of generative AI technology on young people

Council members engage in opportunities outside of their regular meetings. These have included:

• launching an open letter to Big Tech on Safer Internet Day 2023
• meeting with senior leaders of Big Tech organisations to discuss online safety for young people
• collaborating with WeProtect Global Alliance to develop the foreword for their 2023 Global Threat Assessment report
• discussing youth and digital media policy on a panel at Sydney University’s 2023 Policy and Internet Conference
• participating in the 2024 National Youth Forum with the Office for Youth
• appearing in a number of radio and media interviews.

Read more about the Council’s activities and achievements in the eSafety Youth Council interim report 2023 and the 2024 annual report.

You can learn about your rights in relation to personal information collected by eSafety by reading our Privacy Policy. Our Personal Information Collection Notice explains what information we collect, and what we do with it.

eSafety abides by the Commonwealth Child Safety Framework (CCSF). To see how eSafety creates child safe cultures and practices, please see our Child Safety Policy.