Australia leads world in slaying social media 'monster'

The government is reviewing a minimum age of between 14 and 16 years to access social media. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS)

The world needs Australia to slay the monsters the United States created by legislating controls on social media to protect children, American psychologist Jonathan Haidt says.

Addressing the second day of the Social Media Summit convened by the SA and NSW governments in Adelaide, the author of The Anxious Generation thanked delegates for "leading the way in cleaning up the mess that America made for the world".