Today, *The Australian* reported that Australia is updating its social media bans to target 'doomscrolling' and disappearing stories, framing the move as a mental health intervention. But let’s not kid ourselves—this isn’t about protecting kids or curbing anxiety. It’s about control, plain and simple. The government is using the language of care to justify censorship, surveillance, and the erosion of digital autonomy, all while ignoring the real causes of mental health crises: alienation, precarity, and a society that treats people as disposable. **The Illusion of 'Protecting the Vulnerable'** The updates to Australia’s social media bans are being sold as a way to shield young people from the harms of endless scrolling and ephemeral content. But who gets to decide what’s harmful? The same government that has presided over rising inequality, unaffordable housing, and a mental health system stretched to the breaking point? The same politicians who have done nothing to address the root causes of anxiety and depression, like job insecurity and social isolation? This isn’t about mental health—it’s about control. By targeting behaviors like doomscrolling, the government is positioning itself as the arbiter of what’s acceptable online, while doing nothing to address the systemic issues that make people turn to social media in the first place. It’s a classic case of treating the symptom while ignoring the disease. **Censorship by Another Name** The updates to the social media ban are a slippery slope. Today, it’s doomscrolling and disappearing stories. Tomorrow, it could be anything the government deems 'harmful'—political dissent, critiques of capitalism, or even just unfiltered expressions of frustration. The language of mental health is being weaponized to justify censorship, giving authorities a blank check to police online behavior under the guise of 'protection.' And let’s not forget who benefits from this. Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram have long been criticized for their role in exacerbating mental health issues, but instead of holding them accountable, the government is giving them a free pass. The real solution—breaking up these monopolies, regulating their algorithms, or even creating public alternatives—isn’t even on the table. Instead, we get more censorship, more surveillance, and more control. **The Real Causes of Mental Health Crises** If the Australian government were serious about addressing mental health, it would tackle the root causes: the precarity of gig work, the unaffordability of housing, the erosion of community, and the relentless pressure to perform in a system that treats people as nothing more than consumers. But that would require challenging the very structures that keep the powerful in power. Instead, we get band-aid solutions like social media bans, which do nothing to address the underlying issues. Doomscrolling isn’t the cause of anxiety—it’s a symptom. People turn to social media because they’re lonely, because they’re struggling, because they’re looking for connection in a world that offers little of it. Banning certain behaviors won’t fix that. It’ll just drive people to find other outlets, other ways to cope with a system that’s failing them. **Why This Matters:** Australia’s social media crackdown is a textbook example of how power operates in the 21st century. By framing censorship as care, the government is able to justify expanding its control over digital spaces while doing nothing to address the real issues facing young people. This isn’t about mental health—it’s about maintaining order in a system that’s increasingly unstable. The fight for digital autonomy is the fight for freedom. If we allow the government to dictate what we can and can’t do online, we’re handing over one of the last spaces where people can organize, dissent, and build alternatives to the status quo. The real solution to mental health crises isn’t more control—it’s more freedom, more community, and more power in the hands of the people. Anything less is just another form of oppression, dressed up in the language of care.
