When he was in his first year of secondary school, Luke McCluskey did not have access to social media.
He felt he was missing out without it because he did not speak to his classmates outside of school, who often communicated through a group chat online.
“I knew if I didn’t get it, I would miss out too much, and I did feel a lot of pressure,” he said.
Once he downloaded Snapchat in second year, he recalled it being “good for the first while”, saying he made friends through the app, though it came with a “large, negative side”.
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McCluskey, one of several young people to speak before an Oireachtas committee on child safety online on Thursday, said there are people who “do not care” about what they send to others.
“There are people who will cut you dry and they are not held for their actions in any way,” he said.
McCluskey, is a participant in Comhairle na nÓg, Louth through Boomerang Youth Service & Café in Drogheda, said he experienced “small bits of bullying” online, where a “group of girls” would add him to group chats at random.
“I think they saw me as a bit of a joke and I was probably an inside joke in the friend group, so they’d mock me,” he said.
Although he would leave the chats, he would be re-added, he said.
“I’d see it as a lighthearted thing, and they weren’t too mean to me, thankfully, but it did get to me and it would kind of stay in the back of my head for a long time.”
“I can only imagine if it was a group of more mean people that I could end up in a really rough spot, mentally,” he said.
McCluskey said the lack of legislation surrounding social media was “appalling”, saying most Acts are “retrospective because a tragedy has occurred”.
The committee heard calls for social media companies to implement more effective measures to keep young people safe, with Noah O’Shea, a member of youth group Foróige, saying: “Reporting and blocking alone are not enough.”
“Platforms need better moderation and genuine accountability to prevent harm before it escalates,” he said.
O’Shea said young people had a right to safe and inclusive digital spaces, adding: “The time to take action and hold social media and tech companies to account on this issue is now.”
Asked whether a social media ban for those under 16 would be the right approach, O’Shea said he did not think it would be beneficial.
“If you have a child, and you say you can’t have any sweets, you just make them want the sweets even more,” he said, adding that it would also negate the positives of social media.
He said such a move could create a “black-market” scenario, where young people could access an “even more harmful” environment.
Amber Mooney, a member of the Youth Advocate Programme Ireland, said social media companies should “take young people seriously” when issues are reported.
Rather than remove offensive posts or comments that are reported, Mooney said, they often “do not agree that the posts or comments are hurtful”.
Mooney told committee members social media companies should face tougher penalties in the form of “much bigger fines” for breaches.
Thursday’s Oireachtas committee meeting separately heard that some children as young as five were spending hours on devices each day, while some aged between eight and 13 were spending up to four hours.
The young witnesses told committee members it was easy to lose track of time on apps such as TikTok and Snapchat, which can take away from “time spent with friends and family in the real world”.
* This article was updated on May 6th, to clarify that Luke McClusky is a participant in Comhairle na nÓg, Louth
