Parents and caregivers: How are you feeling about the social media restrictions for under 16s?

[Sophie_M]

Hey everyone,

It’s hard to miss the talk around the new social media restrictions for under 16s, set to roll out across Australia in early December. We’ve heard from some of the younger members of our community, and now we’d love to hear from parents and caregivers.

For some, this change might feel like a welcome relief - a clearer way to manage social media use and protect young people. For others, there may be concerns about how it will affect access to online support, questions around how age verification will actually work, or frustration and powerlessness over a decision beyond our control. All of these feelings are valid.

If you’re a parent or caregiver, or you have some young people in your life that will be affected by these restrictions, how are you feeling about this change?

We’ve created this space for anyone caring for young people to share their thoughts, ask questions, and support each other through the uncertainty of the months ahead.

Kind regards
Sophie M

[white knight]

I'd like to comment on a few aspects of why the restrictions are necessary. 

It all comes down to a society that has laws and restrictions in a vast way. Everything we do from operating machinery to swearing at others and felony charges are covered under law. Many feel that we in Australia are over governed so why so many laws- what is the main thrust of them?

Law makers have, over generations added new laws as the need has arisen and I can think of a perfect example of this. Some 30 years or so in Victoria a law was introduced to permit under 12yo children to ride on the footpath. Prior to that all bicycles had to be ridden on roads. Imagine a 3 or 4yo child riding a small bike on any road let alone a busy road. So that law was introduced and it didnt result in any law being replaced either. So thats one example why we end up with many laws.

The internet is a phenomenon that has caught us all by surprise because it wasnt like anything else humans have introduced to the masses. Even computer manufacturers didnt have a guide as to what cables/cords/ batteries or systems they were to use so they designed their own. Nothing was uniform. This resulted in difficulties learning how to operate the beast i.e. apple vs microsoft. Nor did they even think about the ramifications of zero restrictions on children using the devices. Suddenly adult only content flooded our screens and apps to stop them had to be purchased. It's 2025 so its taken a generation for Governments to accept laws to prevent access are needed.

To sum up, parents have found difficulty protecting their children from outside delivery of content that their children can watch and read. This is unacceptable. So I'm in favour of laws to govern this problem but I'm also interested in the opinions of young people especially teenagers.

TonyWK

[Guest_99498039]

How do I get support for my young person who is 15 and is getting banned because they put their real age on their apps but their friends haven’t been notified because they have false ages in n their accounts. 
My young person is worried they will be the only one without Snapchat and will be socially isolated.