Recent changes to social media laws in Australia, effective from 10 December 2025, will restrict children under 16 from creating or maintaining accounts on specific platforms. This article provides information on these changes, the reasons behind them, and guidance for supporting your child through this transition.
Understanding the Changes
From 10 December 2025, social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube will be required to take reasonable steps to prevent Australian children under 16 from using their services. This means children under this age will not be able to create new accounts or keep existing ones. Research conducted in early 2025 indicated that while most parents (81%) were aware of upcoming changes, knowledge of the specific details was limited.
The restrictions apply to services where a significant purpose is online social interaction, allowing users to connect and post material. It is important to note that platforms with a sole or primary purpose of messaging or online gaming are likely to be excluded. However, this can change if social media-style features become a primary function of the service. The eSafety Commissioner will oversee compliance, focusing on services with the highest risk and number of users.
Why Are These Changes Necessary?
The developing brains of children and adolescents are particularly susceptible to the designs of social media, indeed all people are. The constant notifications and rewards trigger dopamine releases, encouraging increasingly compulsive use at an age when impulse control is not fully mature. This can lead to a form of smartphone addiction, even in primary school-aged children. Prolonged and intense social media use is linked to increased depressive symptoms, disordered eating, and psychological distress in adolescents. The culture surrounding social media can also fracture family bonds by amplifying peer values over family influence, encouraging conformity, and reducing time spent with family. Delaying access allows young people more time to mature and develop the critical skills needed to understand the consequences of their online behaviour. This helps foster a more responsible and mature use of social media in the future.
The Different Online Worlds of Girls and Boys
While both boys and girls are active on social media, their experiences, motivations, and the impacts on their wellbeing differ significantly.
For Girls:
– Motivation: Primarily relational, focusing on social interaction and emotional sharing. They tend to use platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok more frequently and intensely.
– Impacts: Girls are more susceptible to the negative effects of social media. This is largely driven by social comparison and perfectionism, where they compare themselves to the curated and idealised images common on these platforms. This can lead to lower self-esteem and body image issues. They are also more likely to experience relational aggression (e.g., social exclusion, reputational damage), emotional contagion (the rapid spread of negative feelings through a network), and have a higher risk of online predation and harassment than boys. Research consistently shows the link between high social media use and depressive symptoms is stronger for girls.
For Boys:
– Motivation: Driven by social interaction, entertainment, information sharing, and achievement/autonomy, often found in online gaming.
– Impacts: Boys also face body image pressure, though it manifests differently, focusing on a muscular ideal which can lead to body dissatisfaction. While they are less concerned about privacy risks, they are still exposed to cyberbullying and negative mental health outcomes, including social isolation and online aggression. For boys, research suggests that the negative impact may depend more on *how* social media is used rather than the duration of use.
A concerning finding from a 2025 study highlighted that adolescent boys are often the perpetrators of image-based sexual harassment, with girls being the primary victims. Both groups frequently normalise these behaviours as harmless or amusing, underscoring the need for greater maturity before engaging on these platforms.
How to Prepare and Support Your Child
Parental support is crucial for a smooth transition. Research shows that a significant minority of parents and children may attempt to circumvent the new rules. Open communication and preparation are key.
1. Talk to Your Child: Explain the “why” behind the changes, focusing on the benefits for their wellbeing and development. Acknowledge their feelings of frustration or loss. Use the law as something you can lean on.
2. Save Their Content: Encourage your child to save any photos, videos, or messages they wish to keep from their accounts before 10 December 2025, as they may lose access.
3. Explore Alternatives: Help them find other ways to connect with friends and pursue their interests offline. Encourage hobbies, sports, and in-person social activities.
4. Use Available Resources: The eSafety Commissioner’s website has a dedicated hub with resources for parents, educators, and young people to help navigate these changes.
5. Adopt a Framework: Consider using a structured approach to technology in your family. The S.T.A.R.T.E.R framework (Start with self, Take it slowly, Age-appropriate setup, Regular tech-healthy routines, Encourage adventures, Rely on others) from the book *Raising Tech-Healthy Humans* is a useful guide. If you would like a copy of the framework please email counsellor@mueller.qld.edu.au
These changes are not about punishment, but protection. By providing this discipline and care, we are giving our children the space they need to develop into resilient and mature individuals, ready for the complexities of the online world when the time is right.
Reference List:
Australian Government eSafety Commissioner. (n.d.). Social media age restrictions hub. https://www.esafety.gov.au/
Blanchard, L., Conway-Moore, K., Aguiar, A., Önal, F., Rutter, H., Helleve, A., Nwosu, E., Falcone, J., Savona, N., Boyland, E., & Knai, C. (2023). Associations between social media, adolescent mental health, and diet: A systematic review. Obesity Reviews, 24, e13631. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13631
Jarman, H., McLean, S., Marques, M., Slater, A., Paxton, S., & Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, M. (2024). Understanding what drives adolescent social media behaviours: Informing approaches for interventions. Body Image, 51, 101793. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2024.101793
Kelly, Y., Zilanawala, A., Booker, C., & Sacker, A. (2018). Social media use and adolescent mental health: Findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study. EClinicalMedicine, 6, 59–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2018.12.005
Keles, B., McCrae, N., & Grealish, A. (2019). A systematic review: The influence of social media on depression, anxiety and psychological distress in adolescents. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 25, 79–93. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2019.1590851
ORIMA Research. (2025, September 15). A summary report on developmental research to inform a social media minimum age campaign. Australian Government Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts. Retrieved from https://www.esafety.gov.au/sites/default/files/2025-10/Social-Media-Minimum-Age-Campaign-research-report-summary-Oct2025.pdf
Román, R., Fernández, L., Lameiras, A., & Castro, R. (2025). Analysis of image-based sexual harassment and abuse in adolescents’ socio-affective relationships. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 8862605251315767. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605251315767
Sih, D. (2022). Raising tech-healthy humans: How to reset your children’s tech habits and give them a great start to life. Major Street Publishing.
