For what it's worth, here's the email I just sent to my local member against the social media ban, feel free to use.
Dear <insert your member name here>
I am one of your constituents in <insert your electorate> and I write to you to implore in the strongest terms that you stand against the under 16 social media ban. Social media is a vital lifeline for people of all ages, for information, learning and community building. Restricting access for under 16's will leave them vulnerable and without communities that so many of them rely on for support as well as restricting them from vital resources for schooling such as Youtube.
For regional and rural teenagers, social media is one of the few places they can find community, especially among the LGBTQIA+ community, who are at greatest risk of having their information and access to community severed or considered "unsafe".
I am fully in favour of restricting algorithms and advertising for all social media users, which has been successfully introduced for younger users in the EU. I also firmly believe a broader push for social media understanding for adults, both to understand how social media has changed over the last two decades, and how to support critical thinking and use of social media will be a better outcome for our community as a whole..
I am also deeply concerned with how this ban will be enforced. Australia already has restrictions to limit what under 18's can access online. At no point should any form of Identification be handed over to any social media company or linked to any government account. This is a serious breach of privacy and runs a significant risk of being abused.
A social media ban is not, and should not be the way this government proceeds.
