This is the face of the future.Or, more importantly, the faces of the future. These are the kids on the frontline of Australia’s world-leading social media stand that has already sent the tech giants trembling and been embraced by countries across the globe.Because it’s not just a piece of legislation, it’s a life-changing event for those whose lives matter most: The children who will shape everything ahead of us.And their children, and all the children to come.This is what we must always keep foremost in our hearts and minds if we are going to reckon with the seismic upheaval that new technology is having in our very hearths and homes.But you know what? The kids are alright.And that’s thanks not to the social media behemoths that try to capture their slavish attention in endless cycles of TikTok reels, but to the efforts of this masthead and the Australian government to free them from it. There is, as per the prophetic phrase from Terminator 2, no fate but what we make.And we are determined to make a better fate for our kids.So I was overjoyed to witness this fate in the making while filming our new Unpacked: Beyond Social Media series. You haven’t seen it yet, but — spoiler alert — it will blow you away when it launches on Sunday.I laughed and literally cried while talking to young people who were so smart and sassy and full of promise as well as parents who had lost their most precious gifts to the scourge of online exploitation.I’ll never forget feeling the need to grab Wayne Holdsworth as he recalled the suicide of his teenage son Mac after a sickening online sextortion scam.“These tech giants have blood on their hands,” he told me through tears.But I’ll also never forget the serene happiness of Charlotte McVee, whose ex-detective mum banned her from social media — despite all her youthful protests.“I really appreciate mum not giving me it,” the now young adult said. “I actually got a chance to have a childhood.”Childhood is surely the least our children deserve. And that’s what we’re giving them back.• Unpacked: Beyond Social Media is a four-part series, launching Sunday, November 15
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