Stopping the sacrifice of children on a new altar 

This article is part of a debate. Read Gideon Cohen’s argument against the social media ban. 

Nowhere in Torah is the complexity of the parent-child relationship more trenchant than in the terrifying story of the Akeida, the binding of Isaac and his near sacrifice by his father Abraham. 

Leonard Cohen perhaps got to the nub of it when he wrote of the warning it has cast for generations: “You who build the altars now to sacrifice thesechildren, you must not do it anymore. A dream is not a vision, and you have never been tempted by a demon or a god.” 
 
Today both parents and children are tempted by new demons, and we are perhaps challenged by God in how we respond.  

Changing technologies mean children have become the targets of our age, exploited mercilessly by influencers and algorithms.  

Dealing with these new challenges requires new policies. Australia is leading the way with a new law, which will come into effect on December 10 banning under-16s from social media platforms. Tech companies can be fined up to $50 million if they do not take "reasonable steps" to deactivate existing accounts for under-16s and prohibit new accounts on platforms including Facebook, X, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and Threads 

We should welcome this move, recognising that to allow our children unfettered access to these platforms is to sacrifice them on modern altars of commerce and technology.  

The dangers of social media for children and teens are well documented and are recognised by both parents and children.  A recent survey by psychologist Jonathan Haidt, found most of the parents and nearly half of the young adults wish that the major social media platforms had never been invented.