For Information

From mid-December, Australian children under 16 will not be allowed to hold accounts on certain social media platforms. The age restrictions are likely to apply to Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube, among other platforms. Online gaming and standalone messaging apps are among a number of types of services that have been excluded.

It’s not a ban. It’s a delay to having accounts.

Being logged into an account increases the likelihood that they’ll be exposed to pressures and risks that can be hard to deal with. These come from social media platform design features that encourage them to spend more time on screens, while also serving up content that can harm their health and wellbeing.  

For example, the pressure to view disappearing content and respond to a stream of notifications and alerts has been linked to harms to health - these include reduced sleep and attention and increased stress levels.   

While most platforms currently have a minimum age of 13 for account holders, delaying account access until 16 will give young people more time to develop important skills and maturity. It’s breathing space to build digital literacy, critical reasoning, impulse control and greater resilience.

Read more from the Office of eSafety. 

Students at our school have revealed that they have a presence on a number of social media and gaming platforms, such as Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube and Roblox. Often, inappropriate concepts and negative communications through these platforms between students filter into the school environment. These concepts and communications are difficult to track, especially with disappearing messages on many platforms, unsupervised social media and chat access, and the creation of new terminology based on current social media trends. 

The upcoming restrictions are a perfect opportunity to review your child’s social media accounts and discuss the need for increased maturity required to hold these accounts as well as examining household routines to create positive online habits. Just like alcohol use or driving a car, these restrictions take into account a child’s emotional and social development, and aim to promote positive relationships, reduce exposure to inappropriate content, develop healthy screen habits. 

Some suggestions to help with changes include:

• Change YouTube and TikTok use to YouTube Kids or ABC Kids iView for free streaming services or create a restricted child account on your family’s streaming media accounts. 
• Change Snapchat and gaming chats, such as Roblox, to Messenger Kids, a parent-managed messaging app. 
• Set up limits and parental controls on child devices, such as amount of time spent on social media and streaming accounts. 
• Once your child reaches 13 years of age and you wish to introduce social media, set up Meta Teen accounts for Facebook and Instagram, which have built-in protections (note: there has been no communications as to how these accounts will be impacted by the new restrictions). 
• Sign out of all social media accounts, changing passwords or deleting accounts. 
• Remove social media accounts from students’ personal devices. 
• Consider Screen Time vs Screen Quality, see this video from Emma Cross from Curtin University. 

Use online family resources from ThinkUKnow or the eSafety Commissioner to support the transition to the restrictions. Other resources are available from Headspace and Beyond Blue.