Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 30 April 2026
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Equality
Safety and Well-being of Children Online: Discussion (Resumed)
2:00 am
Nessa Cosgrove (Labour)
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Everyone is very welcome. I have to give a full disclosure. I am a board member of Sligo Springboard, so I am delighted they are here. Shineka is the youngest person here, so well done to her. Jenna and Jack are here in the Public Gallery. They are all very welcome and it is great to hear their voices.
The issue is very complex. We have had different groups come in, but it is so important to hear the witnesses' voices on this and how there are loads of benefits to having social media. However, what do we consider social media to be? Is YouTube considered social media, or is Snapchat or Roblox? I will ask Shineka about her study. She said younger people used gaming a lot. What kind of apps were they using? Was it even apps, or was it all apps? What were the things younger people, the small ones, were using?