Understanding the new social media age rules

We are committed to fostering a safe and supportive learning environment at John Paul College and this extends to our students' digital lives. As you may be aware, new legislation is being introduced that will impact how young people under 16 years old can use certain social media platforms.

Our College is taking proactive steps to understand these changes and, most importantly, partner with our families to help our students to navigate them successfully.

Why the changes? Protecting younger teens

The new laws are designed to safeguard our younger students (under-16s) from pressures and risks often built into social media platform design. 

These features include:

• Excessive screen time: Design elements like ‘streaks’, endless notifications, and alerts that intentionally encourage prolonged and addictive use, often reducing time for sleep, study, face-to-face socialising and other activities.
• Exposure to harmful content: Algorithms that increase the likelihood of students being served negative, upsetting, or manipulative content in their feeds.

Research has found that these features are linked to real consequences and can impact wellbeing, including increased stress, disrupted sleep, and reduced concentration – elements that are all vital for success in secondary school.

Our approach: education and resilience

While the responsibility for enforcement rests with the platforms themselves, we believe this presents a significant opportunity to support our students. The delay in account access for under-16s gives our students time to:

• Learn to navigate the digital landscape: Truly understand the benefits, risks, and complexities of social media
• Build essential skills: Develop the digital, social, and emotional resilience needed to handle the pressures of online interaction
• Know when and how to seek help: Understand the importance of reaching out to a trusted adult, counsellor, or external service if things go wrong.

As partners in your child's education, we can all contribute by focusing on clear communication, effective digital citizenship education, and by modelling safe, positive online behaviours.

We acknowledge that the timing of the legislative change will have an impact on students during the Christmas, New Year, and summer period. For some individuals, this may represent their primary mode of communication and social engagement. We encourage families to proactively discuss how they will navigate this transition and explore ways to support their young person in maintaining meaningful connections with peers.

Key information for your family from the eSafety Commissioner

The new age restrictions are focused on protecting younger users, but they impact how all families manage technology at home.

The eSafety Commissioner’s Social Media Age Restrictions Hub is the go-to spot to find information about the upcoming legislation. The hub is regularly updated with resources, videos, guides and FAQs to help young people, families and educators prepare.

Quick facts about the legislation: