Tanya Plibersek blames social media for normalising sexual choking

Social services minister Tanya Plibersek has spoken out about the contribution of social media to the increase in sexual violence against teenagers, especially choking.

The act of sexualised choking has become a focal point in the national discussion of misogyny and violence against women after a 16-year-old Sydney girl died this month during a suspected sexual strangulation act. 

Guardian Australia reported last week that a source said the girl was believed to have become unconscious as a result of asphyxiation by her sexual partner.

Plibersek, who is an outspoken advocate for women and children, told the ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday that social media algorithms are making a huge impact on normalising choking as a sexual act.

“If you set up a social media account as a young boy in Australia today, it takes an average of 23 minutes for you to be fed misogynistic, violent misogynistic content online," Plibersek said.

"That is a deliberate decision of the social media companies that is wrecking our young boys, giving them all of the wrong ideas about what healthy relationships look like.

“It is no coincidence that 60% of young people now report that they’ve experienced strangulation during a sexual encounter … It is pervasive and widespread and deadly, and it’s being fed to our young people and normalised.”

Posting on Instagram last night, Plibersek added a video of a brief explainer of her points, and said in the caption:

"Algorithms are shaping the behaviour of an entire generation and exposing men and boys to an avalanche of harmful misogyny.

"To protect our kids’ mental health and end family, domestic and sexual violence, we have to address the online harm that’s spilling into the real world.

“Australians deserve an online environment that shares information and opinion without driving hatred. It’s time to hold social media platforms accountable for putting profits before people.”

The social services minister concluded her video by saying, “Social media companies shouldn't be profiting off the misery they're causing.”

 

 

 

 

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Tanya Plibersek vows to review the impact of algorithms

Plibersek further said to Insiders: 

“We’re absolutely up for work on algorithms. Opting in to those recommended algorithms that are causing so much harm, opting in or opting out,” she said.

“We’re… looking very closely at the recent Meta case in the US [and] the moves that the UK government have introduced to prevent the depiction of strangulation and suffocation in pornography. 

"These are all really important considerations as we develop our next action plan on family, domestic and sexual violence, so that work’s going on right now.”

Starting social media younger linked to anxiety, depression in teen years

Parents, schools and the age children first use social media may be just as important as restricting access to platforms when it comes to adolescents’ mental health, new research from UNSW Sydney suggests.

A survey of 365 Australian adolescents aged 10 to 15, plus one of their parents, found that those who began using social media at a younger age reported more symptoms of anxiety and depression. Simply having a social-media account showed a weaker relationship with those symptoms, according to the findings published today in JAMA Network Open.

Conducted in the six weeks leading up to the Australian social media ban that came into effect in December 2025, participants were asked if they had ever used social media, the age at which they first used it and whether they currently had a social media account. They were also asked questions to measure symptoms of anxiety and depression.

The researchers found 70% of the youngsters had used social media, about half had a social media account already, while the average age they first started using social media was 11 years old.

“What surprised us was that the age children first started using social media appeared to matter more for their mental health than simply whether they had an account,” study chief investigator Associate Professor Susanne Schweizer says.

“It suggests that delaying children’s first exposure may be a promising policy, especially if paired with training good digital hygiene and citizenship during the delay.”

Australia’s social media ban was introduced in response to growing concerns about rising rates of anxiety and depression among young people and the increasing use of social media. Lead author and UNSW PhD candidate Anna Bilston says governments may need to think beyond simply restricting access if they want to protect young people’s mental health.

“If we want to protect young people’s mental health, we need to think not only about whether they can access social media, but also about how young they are when they first start using it,” Ms Bilston says.