Nova radio star Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli has slammed Instagram‘s new ‘teen accounts’ feature as a ‘watered-down’ solution to Australia’s mental health crisis.
The Meta-owned app announced the new safety features on Tuesday that will push all Australian teens onto specialised accounts over the next 60 days.
The accounts limit who can see and message users aged between 13 and 17, restrict their exposure to inappropriate content and improve parental supervision.
The built-in protections can only be changed or disabled with the permission of parents.
The Nova 96.9 breakfast host and child protection campaigner, 44, told Daily Mail Australia the ability for parents to remove the safeguard significantly reduced the effectiveness of the new accounts.
‘At 36 Months we will take any positive step towards guarding kids online. Unfortunately, we consider this a bit of a soft offering,’ the father-of-three said.
‘It doesn’t actually solve the problem we have.
‘It’s like getting a show bag without getting to go to the show – it’s just symbolic.’
Nova star Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli (pictured with fellow 36 Months campaigners Hamish Blake and Robb Evans) says Instagram’s new ‘teen accounts’ need to do more to protect kids
Meta has introduced a series of new safety features which will limit who can see and message its users aged between 13 and 17 as well as restrict their access to inappropriate content
He and production company CEO Rob Galluzzo have been pushing for the age-limit to access social media to be increased from 13-years-old to 16-years-old.
A petition, titled 36 Months, has received more than 115,000 signatures in support of the change and was recently presented to the New South Wales Parliament.
His organisation believes the hardline age restriction will allow impressionable teenagers to ‘get to know themselves before the rest of the world does’.
Wippa said children will likely pressure their parents to disable the safety features.
‘It puts the pressure on parents – which is one of the things we’re trying to ease. Parents often feel like if the kid across the road’s parents say it’s okay, they have to as well. Otherwise they’ve got an angry kid on their hand,’ he said.
‘We need to relieve that pressure from parents and kids who feel like they will face social isolation if they’re the only ones not online.’
The radio star described social media as a ‘sensitivity amplifier’ during an already incredibly emotional time in young people’s lives.
‘We want to reinforce to everybody just want a sensitive time it is when you’re growing up,’ Wippa said.
‘If social media had been around when I was 13, it would have been an extremely challenging time. We want kids to develop to the best they can possibly be.
‘If we could free up some space they could be using that time to learn lessons, resilience, self-esteem and belonging.
‘All those crucial things that are so important at that stage of development.’
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese earlier this month vowed to introduce a bill to increase the age limit on social media.
Wippa believes the move could see Australia lead the way for other Commonwealth nations to crackdown on teenagers’ social media use.
‘Our greatest development was the Prime Minister saying he will make a change in November,’ he said.
‘That was the biggest development and most courageous step towards guarding our kids we’ve seen in this dangerous time.
‘The prime minister can lead the Commonwealth and stand on an international stage and say, “This is not good enough for our kids. We will not accept this in Australia because it’s damaging our kids”.
‘We have kids right on the edge right now, there’s an immediacy for this.’
Robb Evans lost his daughter, Olivia (pictured together), to suicide last April following a years-long battle with anorexia – which was worsened by eating disorder ‘advice’ on Instagram
Wippa (pictured handing 36 Months’ 115,000 signatures to parliament) believes restricting Australian teenagers’ access t social media will drastic improve their meatal health
Compared to the demands of 36 Months, as well as similar advocacy around the globe, Wippa described Meta’s teen accounts as ‘a peace offering’ to parents.
He desperately wants to see the age limit on social media increased to 16 before his nine-year-old son is able to use the app – which is in just four years time.
‘It certainly doesn’t do the job and doesn’t offer the relief we’ve been campaigning so hard for,’ he said.
‘The last thing I want is to think that [my son], or any other kids, is being exposed to things he doesn’t need to be or inappropriately approached.’
One of the people with the strongest emotional ties to the campaign is Robb Evans who lost his daughter, Olivia, to suicide last April following a years-long battle with anorexia – which was worsened by eating disorder ‘advice’ on Instagram.
Mr Evans described Instagram’s teen accounts as ‘a positive start’ but ‘not enough’.
‘My daughter, Liv, was only 15 when social media amplified her struggles with an eating disorder, leading to her tragic passing,’ he said in a statement on Wednesday.
‘We cannot afford compromise when it comes to the safety and mental health of our children.
‘Australia has the opportunity to set a global precedent by raising the age limit and ensuring social media is a space for safe, healthy development.
‘This is a matter of national importance and I urge our government to stand firm in safeguarding the future of young Australians.’
In a statement on Wednesday, Mr Evans – who lost his daughter Olivia to suicide in 2023 -described Instagram’s teen accounts as ‘a positive start’ but ‘not enough’
A Meta spokesperson told the company that it ‘disagrees’ with the criticism of its teen accounts updates as ineffective.
‘We disagree that Instagram Teen Accounts doesn’t remove pressure from parents -this new feature empowers and further supports parents,’ he said.
‘This new experience is designed to give parents peace of mind that their teens have the right protections in place. We’ve said for many years that we want teens to have safe, age-appropriate experiences online.
‘Yesterday’s update builds on the years we’ve spent developing and launching 50+ tools, features, and resources to support parents and teens on our apps.
‘For us at Instagram, it’s parents first. We believe parents know best, and are deferring decision making to the parent, because parents know their teens better than any company, or any policy maker or Government.
‘We have designed Instagram Teen Accounts to meet, what we know, are the top concerns for parents, and we will continue to stay focused on this.’
Both Wippa and Mr Evans have pushed against the new update being viewed as a compromise to their demands for the app to do more.
Compared to the demands of 36 Months, Wippa described Instagram’s teen accounts as ‘a peace offering’ (pictured, 36 Months’ 115,000 signatures presented to the NSW Parliament)
Rising social media use has been linked to mental health issues, cyberbullying, anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicide in Australian teenagers.
Co-founder of 36 Months, Rob Galluzzo, added the new teen accounts were a clear sign Meta is aware of the issues it has contributed to.
‘It seems Meta has heard this plea and taken some positive steps,’ he said.
‘Ideally, the government shouldn’t have to step in and make commitments about legislating changes to the minimum age.
‘Social media platforms should have led the way on this. I think they missed an opportunity here to build trust with parents.
’36 Months has helped bring social media out of cyber-space and into a national conversation about health. It’s given a voice to parents.’