Make it 16: As the industry rejects toxic trade platforms, support the same for our teens
As backlash continues following Campaign Brief's 2024 edition of The Work, and the industry begins to hold it accountable for its perpetuation of a toxic online environment, Simone Gupta, co-founder of Supermassive and campaign strategist of 36 Months, asks that the same energy be put behind a similar cause.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been asked by multiple journalists to comment on the Campaign Brief issue. My initial response, like that of many women I know, was that I’m really fucking tired of talking about 20 years of unchecked misogyny, bullying, and cronyism that runs rampant in parts of the industry.
What difference will my voice make? I don’t work for a big network anymore, and Supermassive – a majority-female-founded agency – doesn’t subscribe to Campaign Brief, precisely for the reasons being debated.
But as the weeks unfolded, I started seeing the stark parallels between the Campaign Brief debate and the 36 Months campaign, which I care deeply about.
When FINCH’s Rob Galluzzo and Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli first reached out about the campaign’s goal – to raise the age teens can create their own social media accounts on platforms with addictive features from 13 to 16 – I knew immediately it was an urgent issue. As a mother of ten-year-old twins, the need to protect young people from the often-toxic world of social media hit close to home. Rob asked Supermassive for help with a strategy to gain attention and support, and it was a resounding “yes” from us.
Since then, I’ve immersed myself in the data on online bullying, the weaponising of envy, and the emotional toll of intimidation and comparison, hearing story after heartbreaking story of teens and talking with affected families about how their children lose their confidence and self-esteem, and too many are losing their lives.
I’ve sat in NSW Parliament with Robb Evans, whose daughter Liv, 15, took her own life when persistent bullying and exclusion shifted from the playground to social media apps. And most recently, I listened to Mat and Kelly, parents of 12 year old Charlotte O’Brien who took her own life in September for similar reasons.
I’ve spoken with incredible mental health experts like Dr Billy Garvey, Dr Golly, and parenting specialist Maggie Dent, who are united in the view that our teens need protection from the digital pressures that eat away at their mental health. I’ve been impressed with the articulation of the issue by former TikTok executive, Felicity McVay, and our partners at 36 Months, Hyundai and Medibank, who are leading by example, putting their names and efforts behind this cause.
They all echo sentiments familiar to many: that change is urgently needed, but it requires all parts of the community to pull in the same direction.
The issues within our industry – brought into sharp relief by the backlash against Campaign Brief – mirror the very problems we’re fighting in the 36 Months campaign. Just as online exclusion, harassment, and toxicity have become pervasive for our teens, so have they come to define certain corners of the creative industry. Imagine what a platform like Campaign Brief could look like in a decade if today’s toxic culture of social natives remains unchecked.
Our fight with the 36 Months campaign is in its final weeks, and the stakes have never been higher. The Prime Minister has pledged to make a decision by the end of November on raising the social media age limit. We’re calling on him to make a ‘Captain’s Call’ and set it at 16. And we need this industry – one full of talented, fair, and forward-thinking people, despite its flaws – to support us by signing the open letter to the PM. You can do it anonymously or with your name and company.
The impact of social media on mental health is no longer an abstract concern. Teens, especially those between 13 and 16, are experiencing anxiety, depression, and cyberbullying at alarming rates. And while these behaviours have always existed, social platforms give them a new intensity and reach, allowing negativity to thrive on an unprecedented scale. Raising the age limit won’t eliminate these issues, but it would give young people more time to build resilience and confidence before they’re exposed to online pressures.
I’ve seen firsthand how damaging online toxicity can be. When I was on the leadership team at DDB Group, a young team member fell victim to an industry pile-on in the Mumbrella comments section. I had to send them to a family member’s home out of town for a month for their mental well being to recover, and a beloved leader even offered their resignation because it happened on their watch.
I pushed Tim Burrowes hard for the comments to be turned off on this occasion, which thankfully he did. But, while some of them were removed, the emotional scars of those comments lingered for everyone involved, myself included. Seven years later, comments were turned off at Mumbrella. And then turned back on again, albeit they are now moderated.
It wasn’t an isolated incident. A respected CMO, who after launching a campaign went on to become one of the most successful in Australia, felt unable to leave their home because of the abuse in the Campaign Brief comments. This is the reality of an unchecked comment culture – a culture that has been tolerated, if not encouraged, by platforms that should know better.
The Work 2024 spread
Tim Burrowes wrote in the Unmade newsletter last week about the in-real-life culture at Campaign Brief and how it has perpetuated this toxicity for years. It reminded me that I too have had firsthand experience: I was once a young PR, angrily berated on the phone several times by Campaign Brief for sending press releases to Mumbrella or B&T instead of to CB. Only when I returned to work in London for a stint did I realise that Australia’s trade press culture wasn’t the global norm.
This culture, much like the toxic elements of social media, is designed not to protect people’s mental health, but to maximise engagement, build brands, and make sales. I know this because, like the people reading this, I work with these platforms daily to help clients successfully build brands and businesses.
We can’t keep brushing off damaging behaviours as ‘just the way things are’. Just as our government must set the age limit at 16 to protect teens, our industry must reject platforms that foster toxic, exclusionary environments. Innocean’s Love Our Work recent research learnt that 77% of respondents wanted to eliminate online comments, yet still they continued until collectively.
Companies like Clemenger BBDO, CHEP, Special, Leo Burnett, Saatchi & Saatchi and FINCH cutting ties with Campaign Brief after its male-dominated The Work 2024 spread is a powerful, if somewhat overdue, statement. It’s not just about diversity; it’s about the industry’s ability to reflect its values and not continue to be complicit. Both the Campaign Brief issue and the social media age debate are symptoms of systems that protect those in power and make meaningful change seem impossible. But what I’ve learned over these past months is that change IS possible. It just requires collective action. Over the past two weeks, we’ve watched the collective action unfold over the response to Campaign Brief.
To those in the media, marketing and tech industry, we have a responsibility not only to talk about change but to make it happen. The 36 Months campaign is about giving teens a safe space to grow, free from online pressures. It’s also about setting an example within our industry – showing we won’t tolerate platforms or publications that don’t support diversity, inclusion, and mental wellbeing.
The government has a chance to make a difference by setting the social media age at 16 – they are making the decision as I write this – and we have a chance to support that call.
Let’s sign the open letter to the Prime Minister and demand action to protect young Australians from social media’s harms. Let’s raise the age to 16 and ensure our industry embodies the values we want to see in the world.
As 36 Months co-founder Wippa says: “The Prime Minister has to make a ‘Captain’s Call’ right now to cement 16 as the age for social media citizenship. There are no ‘low-risk’ platforms, and Australians won’t accept a watered-down version. The Prime Minister needs to make his decision based on what he knows is right and what the people are asking for. We need to stop more of our children from suffering.”
We’ve made a collective stand for our industry. Now let’s make one for our teens.
Next week we have some big meetings in Canberra, we’re presenting 120+ signatures and stories from parents and educators, and it would be great to take a proactive POV from the media and tech industry.
Sign the letter if you want to see change.
Simone Gupta is the co-founder of Supermassive and campaign strategist of 36 Months.
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As grandmother of an about-to-be 15-year old growing up in Sydney, I’m right with you, Sim! Vanessa Andreotti (Hospicing Modernity) offers a great question: “if someone born today in 30 years could look back at us today, what would they say are helpful things we could be doing for them right now?”
The stand you and your colleagues are making right now is one of those helpful things, and I don’t think you’ll need to wait 28 years for my two-year-old grandson to be telling you that you helped. You’ll be hearing from him and his friends long before then, I’m sure!