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?

How do you think people living regionally managed pre internet days?

I’d love to know how they plan to police it. I imagine it will as successful as the OSA here where anyone who wants to get around the rules will get a VPN or find a work around and while their parents are relaxed the law has taken care of the situation.

I'm afraid you seem really naive. To think your child is somehow not going to get manipulated because you live rurally. They don't have to physically touch you to destroy your life. We just had a situation in the UK. Last week, where hundreds of teenagers have been blackmailed (and some awfully committed suicide) because they when it manipulated into sending photos of themselves to their "girlfriends".

At 5 they should be doing other things other than thinking about social media.

Porn restrictions are being introduced early next year in Australia. You’ll have to log in and prove your age via a credit card or something. VPN usage is going to skyrocket.

Wish it were a thing in the UK. It may have saved my sd from being horrifically groomed

My eldest was bullied the first year of highs school. I am so relieved that he didn't have social media. It meant home was home and no bullies. As the school has a mobile.phone ban we chose not to get him a mobile phone but have a house mobile he can text on but it lives in the lounge room.

I completely agree that stopping bullying on SM should be much more at the top of mind of companies like Meta. They could do it, they just can't be bothered. It's a disgrace. My son was bullied the second day of high school on the bus, thankfully one of his friends was smart enough to film it on their phone. The bully was suspended. Tech can be useful.
( Annoyingly, I just did a timed typing challenge with him, he got 140 wpm 99% accuracy , I got 55 wpm 95% accuracy. ) The benefits of having grown up knowing your way around phones, and laptops.
Also the person who originally suggested we get an ipad for him was a speech pathologist, There was an app ( Talking Tom?) . He was 2 and a half and not speaking.
I understand everyone has had different experiences with tech and I'm sorry for those who have had a terrible time, but my son had a terrible time on the bus ( and it's a 50 minute trip) so I guess I'm just leaning towards tech is the future, may as well embrace it. Oh and I checked his old youtube account ( him reading a book, just his voice and the book shown) and he was actually 6yo. Not sure that will make it any better in others eyes!