25/08/2026
Hi everyone,
I recently accompanied Mia Bannister and Dany Elachi to Canberra in support while they spoke at the Senate Hearing ‘Strengthening Enforcement for the Social Media Minimum Age’ forum.
I wanted to attend the hearing because I know firsthand how damaging that content is to children. I am a ‘lived experience’ mum whose youngest child Hamish died by su***de at 12 years of age on the 19th December 2022.
Sadly, I am part of an ever-growing group of parents like Mia Bannister, Emma Mason, Wayne Holdsworth, Kelly O’Brien, Ali Halkic and many others whose children have died from su***de after a combination of bullying, declining mental health and ongoing harmful content received in their social media feeds that escalated to the point of no return for our beautiful children.
I was deeply moved by Wayne, Mia and Emma’s speeches sharing their children’s stories and the valuable advice they presented to the Senate for continuing to stand our ground and not giving in to the negativity of non-supporters that this is a failure. As they all quoted, this is a cultural change, and it is going to take time to settle into our way of life – just like previous changes to seat belt and anti-smoking laws. This incredible group of parents have dedicated their lives to spreading their children’s stories to every inch of Australia. They know how difficult it is to fathom the dangers and potential deathly outcomes of social media and all of Australia needs to hear this.
None of us ever dreamed we would lose our children to su***de and how we would discover afterwards how interwoven social media was in their decisions to take their own lives. Our children are being brainwashed by Big Tech who knowingly have created content that is deliberately addictive to their young minds. They are losing their right to a healthy and happy upbringing where they get to be kids and play, be creative, learn to think for themselves and build real relationships with their friends in person.
Dany’s talk re-iterated this to the Senators as a father of 5 children and founder of The Heads Up Alliance. Dany is in this space every day, hearing from parents and teachers that are struggling to manage their children’s shortened attention spans, diminishing mental health and all the other negatives that come from spending too much time online. It is nearly impossible to manage the hours they spend on devices and in the social media world.
As with anything like this, sadly we also listened to arguments that want to cancel the ban. Not one of those arguments came from a place of empathy or lived experience. There were businesses looking to spruik their product, doctors and researchers that were about numbers and survey responses from upset teenagers. None of them considered the future of our country and that the young children we are ultimately wanting to protect now will one day sit in their position and run this country.
By far the worst panel of speakers were the Big Tech representatives. None of which had bothered to turn up in person. I found them to be arrogant and vague. They showed no remorse or empathy towards the families of the lost children, nor the serious mental health decline the whole world is suffering from.
Nearly every question was met with an answer of “I don’t have that data on hand; I’ll get back to you”. Yet we know the information they take from us without asking is being used to control, manipulate and increase our children’s dependency on these platforms.
They are proven to be monetising youngsters, building addictive platforms and cruel algorithms that none of us can turn off. Our children’s developing brains are growing up inside a captive box of content supplied to them by companies whose only concern is profit.
So, I say to all the parents out there from the bottom of my heart and from Hamish’s, please support this ‘Minimum Age Law’ so those beautiful babies and adored toddlers you tuck into bed every night will have the opportunity to grow up free from the pain that my fellow bereaved parents’ children were not able to escape. Your kids are our tomorrow, and we need them to experience a loving, peaceful childhood so they may live their best lives now and pass this down to the many generations that will follow in their footsteps.
When Hamish died, he left us a gift. In our grief and pain, we slowed down and got off the technology roundabout. We looked for answers and we found them in nature, in love, in surrender and God. Stopping to watch a spider spin a web, seeing the beauty in our surroundings, the bush and trees, beaches, birds and animals. Time with family, conversation, music and crying. We realise we are all connected and the joy, love and purpose that comes from being kind to one another and appreciating each moment together is priceless.
My wish for everyone is to understand this, you don’t have to go through tragedy to live a beautiful life full of love, authenticity and gratitude it is within all of you. It is your choice to turn off the technology and look around at what is standing right in front of you. It is far more precious and rewarding than a tiny screen. I promise you.
Jodie Carter
20 August 2026
