In this episode of Daybreak – more countries wanting to hold Big Tech to account over their social media targeting of children; politicians with “pride”; UK clinical trial into puberty blockers on hold; nearly 40% of NZers think Treaty of Waitangi has too much influence on government decisions; huge study finds link between cannabis use in teens and psychosis later; the danger of euthanasia being based on a prognosis which could be wrong; Parliament wimps off X; the voice of a mountain expresses concerns – what about the voices of unborn children; the ‘cost of living crisis’ narrative is strong in the media but is it used accurately; CNN is freaking out over ‘Christian nationalism’; and the new political party in the UK is unequivocal about biology and there being only two sexes – that will win votes!
Show summary auto-generated by Descript app:
A major segment focuses on social media regulation and accountability. Bob warns viewers to be discerning about mainstream media coverage because he says mainstream media “hates” social media as competition. He notes countries pushing restrictions (Germany joining Spain, Greece, France, and Britain; Australia and New Zealand considering it; and US states), and discusses Mark Zuckerberg/Meta being in a California court case involving a girl who used YouTube at six, Instagram at nine, then TikTok and Snapchat. He highlights admissions that Meta did not do enough on age verification, compares Big Tech to Big Tobacco, and cites figures that in 2015 there were 4 million users and about 30% of US 10–12-year-olds were on Instagram despite under-13 restrictions. He summarizes an analysis (from a Christchurch Press piece by a marketing/consumption lecturer at the University of Leicester) explaining addiction mechanisms: infinite scrolling and autoplay removing “stopping cues,” variable rewards like likes and personalized videos acting like slot machines, and push notifications/time-limited stories driving fear of missing out. Bob argues Big Tech should be held liable rather than increasing government oversight, and says platforms have exploited children and exposed them to harmful material.
Bob discusses weekend Pride-related events, saying the Labour Party attended in numbers and reiterating his view that the ACT Party is fiscally conservative but not socially conservative, noting David Seymour and Todd Stevenson were present. He says National’s presence at such events may not appeal to its base given controversy around trans issues and puberty blockers.
Good news from the UK: an NHS trial involving puberty blockers for children (including potential recruitment as young as 10) has been put on hold after ethical objections and concerns including fertility loss, saying children should not be used as “lab rats.” He then notes an upcoming New Zealand Wellington High Court case involving PATHA (New Zealand’s version of WPATH) seeking to get puberty blockers reintroduced.
A Radio New Zealand poll about the Treaty of Waitangi’s influence: nearly 40% say it has too much influence, 34% say about right, and 16% say too little. Bob links this to backlash against co-governance and Three Waters, and to issues like bilingual signage prioritisation, and mentions the government reviewing the Waitangi Tribunal.
A major US study of 460,000 teens (Kaiser Permanente in Northern California) followed to age 25 finds cannabis use in the prior year correlated with higher risk of later mental health diagnoses, including bipolar and psychotic disorders.
A New Zealand Herald human-interest story about a Taupō family whose daughter was given weeks to months to live after a cancerous brain tumour but is still alive nearly 10 years later, is an example of the dangers of euthanasia expansions and prognosis uncertainty. ACT MP Todd Stephenson has a bill to remove the six-month requirement for terminal illnesses – thereby opening up many more conditions which qualify for euthanasia.
A US “Family Studies” survey trends from the 1980s to 2024 shows teens socialize in person less, date less, visit friends less, and attend fewer parties; he says this contributes to lower teen pregnancy and sexual activity, while time spent alone has increased, often spent scrolling social media, which he says increases isolation.
Bob criticizes New Zealand Parliament for leaving X (Twitter), describing X as a key platform for open speech and news, and calling BlueSky slow and left-dominated. He argues if Parliament leaves X due to “naughty” content, it should leave all platforms given harmful content on others, and notes a new X account (“NZ Parliament”) is reposting Parliament content from other platforms. He hopes senior political figures push the Clerk of the House to return to X.
Bob supports a government move requiring car parks for high-density housing developments, criticizing earlier regulations (attributed to Phil Twyford around 2020) that removed such requirements and led to street-parking chaos.
A story about “the voice of a mountain” expresses concern over RMA reforms. Where is the “voice” for the unborn in abortion debates.
On family-size narratives, Bob critiques media framing that the “cost of living crisis” is driving people to have only one child. He references an Stuff article and counters with research/analysis from Lindsay Mitchell, saying the share having one child has remained relatively stable since 2001 (around low-to-mid 40%s), two children around 36% consistently, while three children and four-plus have declined somewhat; he argues the media narrative doesn’t fit the data and is used politically.
He notes CNN is producing a documentary on “Christian nationalism,” plays a clip, and says he may watch and report back. He then raises Christian persecution in China, focusing on Pastor Ezra Jin and Zion Church: 27 leaders arrested last year, with 18 still imprisoned; Jin founded Zion Church in 2007, studied at Fuller Seminary, had the Beijing church shut down in 2018, but the congregation continued to meet and grew. He mentions Trump’s planned April meeting with Xi Jinping and calls for pressure to release detainees, while criticizing trade partners for ignoring persecution.
Bob discusses the new UK party Restore Britain, describing it as a center-right response to mainstream conservatives’ weakness on social issues, and quotes its hardline platform opposing transgender ideology (including bans on men in women’s sports and spaces, removal of trans symbols from public buildings, and severe penalties for teachers/doctors involved in transitioning children). He notes its membership is rapidly increasing.
