To be not that happy with the Aus under 16 rules

[marsala1]

As above, come December anyone under 16 in Australia will not be allowed on almost all platforms.Personally , I think 16yo is way too old . Do others agree? My 13yo has a youtube channel that he has had for years and he just posts easy ways to get through hard sections of Roblox games. If he posts he gets about 200000 views. He also has friends all over the world from playing online games . I know people will say that could be a 50yo man,but thats a lot of effort to keep up an American accent for 3 years. I can see some advantages but I'm not sure it's the best option. We have moved regionally and he has been able to keep in touch with friends via online games as well. His laptop is in the dining room and goes to school with him every day , so is a neccesity. Opinions?

I recognise it will be a considerable adjustment and create a void or worse for children in Australia. However, perhaps good will come of it.

I will be interested to see the impacts.

I’m in Australia and have teenagers. I’m curious to see how it will actually work. Apparently other countries have attempted this and none have been successful. Knowing teenagers, they will find a way around it. I think it’s over reaching. Social media can be positive if used correctly. An outright ban seems heavy-handed.

I think overall teens need to spend a lot less time on social media. I was talking to my dd14 yesterday and she asked what I did when I came home from school (I lived quite rural) and I said after my homework was done I’d sometimes get into bed and read a book. I was an avid reader and would sometimes go through a book a day. She looked at me like I had two heads. I didn’t get a phone until I was 16.

I wish the UK would do the same.

I do think when the children of today grow up most parents will be looked back on as bad parents, it will be like the children who had cigarette smoke puffed all over them by their parents in the past.

A lot of kids aren’t being parented anymore, they are just being put in front of screens or palmed off on relatives who spoil them rather than parent them, because they aren’t their parents. People then wonder why a lot of kids behave badly. I feel sorry for the current generation of children.

"That's ok, my dad can pick you up from school/club/corner of the road!"

No need to give address. No need to walk for an hour to the station.

I’m in Australia and think it’s a good thing. I don’t vote labour but something like this would make me think twice, so while they may lose OP’s they may gain mine, so no net effect with that threat🤣.

It’s obviously been put in place to protect kids from their parents giving them unfettered access to YouTube at 5yo. Not a bad thing!

I grew up in regional Australia, a good 30 minute drive from the city. Us country kids were extremely resourceful at getting where we needed to go, often without parental help or knowledge.

The ban is designed, in part, to reduce online bullying and predators. It's barely caused a ripple as parents will just create the accounts for them. My DC watch some YouTube but aren't allowed social media or online forums in games.

It's going to be tricky but it's a culture change they're going for... good for them.

Our 13,14 and 15 years olds have no Social Media. They seem happy, well balanced individuals with good social lives so I can't see any adverse side affects. And they aren't obsessed with posting for 'likes' or tied to their phones.
They still know all the memes and trends etc. from friends and school or whatever...

What do we think could happen?

hmmm

grooming
seeing sexually explicit content
seeing other unsuitable content
blackmail
for a start

16 only feels too old because a generation of kids have had insufficient limits. A child browsing on youtube is only 3 advert-clicks away from hard porn and the algorithims don't protect children. An under 16 who never tried social media won't miss it and will have a healthier childhood. The 6-15yos who have already got used to age-inapprppropriate tech use will certainly have a difficult time but thar doesn't make the new rule wrong. Legitimate use like your roblocks example can easily be facilitated and supervised by an adult using an adult account to post the videos. A person a continent away who you exchange text messages with shouldn't be considered in the same category as real-life friends and children don't gave the maturity to filter this.

Fair enough, 5yo was probably too young but he is sitting here right now in the dining room ( remember Aus times) and I can hear him talking to his friends all over the world, plus those at home. He has his speaker on so there's no subterfuge possible. I can hear every word. The most I've ever had to do was say " Oi! You sound like a wally , be nice". If he is smashing someone at a game and acting like a bit of a tosser. Otherwise absolutely no problems. It's the equivalent of us 80's kids coming home and getting on the phone. I have learnt many phrases listening to him! "Skill issue " and "rizz" are the most annoying, though they seem to be dying out, thank goodness.
He just went to the zoo a couple of days ago with his best friend and they came home and played table tennis and then swam in the pool. ( It's holidays here and stupidly warm - I hate the heat). I have no worries about him except he hates sports, older 3 DC are with first husband , and they played footy ( all types ) and cricket and futsal etc. When forced to choose a sport he has gone with first , fencing, then badminton! One is a 45 minute drive! His grown up ( 20's) older siblings think he is hilarious.

Again, the computer is in the main room of the house ( open plan) he has to have it on speaker - so I or my DP can hear every word that is said and we are pretty much in the middle of nowhere. I know of someone who was groomed walking home from the bus stop every day. Took a year. Do people stop their kids walking home around the corner from the bus stop? No. You mitigate risks. My DS has virtually never been out of my sight since he was born. I think his risk is close to zero. Yes I am a SAHM before someone asks.

Except for pre-school and school obvs! ( forgot that ) and some outings at the nearest shopping centre with a group of friends , and visits with friends at their houses ( birthday parties or just a get together ). Just clarifying! He is not locked in the house. He has friends from all 4 schools he has been to . And they mainly keep in touch Online!!

I think the social media ban age of 16 is bullshit and too old. The government still hasn’t properly told us how age will be verified. I’m not handing over ID documents to Meta etc so I can keep using Instagram or to Elon for Twitter and so on. I’m not convinced that adults won’t have to prove their age.

I’m with you OP. My children have been online (though not unsupervised) since they were about 5. Started with Club Penguin, then Minecraft but they kept in touch with friends and family from the age of 7 (when we moved) through a number of platforms. One DD had a youtube channel that she made a fair amount of money on as an 8 year old doing reviews of TV shows. We did monitor them when they were younger, talk about what they were doing online and show them how to deal with things but that’s tailed off over the years (just as our supervision of their interactions in the physical world has).

It’s been a rich source of social life, ideas, and connection. It was a life line in Covid when they weren’t in school. They’re now over 16 and it’s still going well. Doesn’t cause them anxiety or seem to affect their self esteem negatively. They’re don’t chase likes. They are sceptical about strangers on line and savvy and street smart about spam and scams. They’ve had no virtually bullying issues. None of the negative things I hear about social media have been a part of our lives.

They have had the odd spat. Arguing over who’s right in a game or the like. But we’ve had far fewer and less serious issues from their online life than we have with real life friendships.

I’m curious, how will they stop this? Whats to stop you’re saying you’re over 16? (Not in Aus). Ehi’s going to police it? And how? Are police go ping to be allowed to arrest a 15 year with an iPad in a restaurant, for example? Or their parents? (Off to google).

I think that they’re largely leaving it up to each platform to work it out. Insta or YouTube will use an algorithm based on what you watch to decide what your age is. Too bad for my DH. He and DD share a YouTube account. However he’s already verified as an adult for sensitive or restricted videos so that should be okay. I think that the government will fine or punish platforms if they become aware of underage problems.

I have no idea, that's why I think it's so stupid. What a waste of govt money that could be spent on a/c for school rooms or the potholes on every road around here, hospitals . Amongst many other things.

Oh! I remember Club Penguin. That did have a flaw, that you could spend money if you had your parents CC. But that's the same with ebay etc . Don't let your kids have your CC! ( Lesson learnt by me 20 something years ago - he is now an adviser to the state govt - so they are not irredeemable!)

I did the same ( except for getting into bed) after spending hours on the phone to my friends. I'd watch TV ( there was obvs no netflix or I would have been watching that) and I would start dinner or bring the washing in. Turn off the TV as I heard my parents arrive in the drive. ( dad used to feel the back of the tv to see if it was warm sometimes which caught me out) Zero supervision from when I was about (9yo?) from when I walked to school until I got the bus home and was on my own then for at least a couple of hours. Surely thats not that unusual? I could have been speaking to who knows on the phone ( and prank calls were a favourite of ours ) I can't see the difference!

I forgot to add that on Thursday nights ( which was late night trading then) , I'd get the train from my primary school to the inner city , walk to their shop and then mum would give me $10 to buy a book and then I'd sit and read it at my parents cafe. Nobody would do that now. I'd finish my book by the time it was time to head home at 10pm.

@marsala1 Being left alone every school afternoon at 9yo isn’t usual. I’m guessing that it was by necessity and that there was no after school care available? Depending on what state you’re in it might not even be legal to leave a child alone for that long that often.

I'm not sure if it was legal or not, but most of us that went home on the bus went back to empty houses ( except the rich people who had mum at home) maybe that's why I chose to be a SAHM. My parents were mostly great though, so not sure if it made any difference. It's a hard decision. No there was no such thing as after school care when I went to school.

@marsala1 You must have been an independent and capable child for them to trust you at home alone.

Totally agree with this and only wish uk introduced similar rules.