Ryan Bridge: We're cracking down on the kids

The youth are out of control.  We'll crush the cars. We'll crush the smartphones.  Which all sounds nice this will... like most laws designed to make us feel like we're getting a handle on social problems, will all come down to enforcement. For all the time Judith Collins spent at the scrap metal yards for photo ops, was not quite the Crusher those photos ops made her out to be.  In the five years after they passed the law, three cars were crushed.  But that was a three-strike solution, Mark Mitchell, the destroyer, is moving us to a first strike programme... so you're one Gone in 60 Seconds Street race away from destruction or your car ending up on the Turner's auction site.  If you've tried to get some sleep in an area where they convoy in some Subaru at 3am in the morning, you'll know how annoying these so-called meet ups are.  It wastes so much police time. They're crashing into each other and hurting themselves. Ripping up the road.  So yeah, why not double down on the crusher, but this won't make the problem disappear.  Somewhat ironic, too, because we're saying screen time is bad. Get off your phone. Go outside and do something.  These kids are off their phones, fixing their cars. Learning about engines. Chatting with one another face-to-face. Actually, out there doing something other sitting at home on Tiktok.  The TikTok problem is the far bigger problem because it affects all of them not just the few who race cars.  By their first year of High School, 90% of kids have a smartphone.  This is interesting now because we've moved beyond Member's bill to a government bill being proposed, so a social media ban is now officially on the agenda.  The problem with enforcement here is obvious - how do you do when there are so many workarounds.  And the enforcers will not be police, they'll be parents.  And here's the problem. Most parents spend time more time on social media than their kids. Nearly half of kiwi teens say their parent is at least sometimes distracted by their phone when they’re trying to talk to them. Isn't that a bit hypocritical? Like telling them not to smoke while puffing away on a pack of winne blues?  Enforcement of whatever rules we pass to manage the impulses of teenagers will ultimately determine how successful those measures are in stopping them doomscrolling or joyriding. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.