Wellbeing

Making and Keeping Friends

Friendships play an important role in young people’s wellbeing, sense of belonging, and confidence. During adolescence, friendships can change frequently as students develop new interests, identities, and social groups. Learning how to start friendships, maintain positive relationships, and manage conflict is a key life skill. 

Strong friendships are built on mutual respect, kindness, clear communication, and healthy boundaries. Support from parents, carers, and schools helps young people navigate friendship challenges, recognise unhealthy dynamics, and develop the skills needed to build and maintain positive connections with others.

What parents can do:

• Encourage involvement in activities, clubs, or teams where friendships can form naturally through shared interests.
• Talk through common friendship challenges (e.g. feeling left out, conflict, changing groups) and help problem-solve calmly.
• Model respectful communication, empathy, and boundary-setting in your own relationships.
• Check in regularly about friendships and watch for signs of ongoing loneliness, conflict, or social stress.

What students can do:

• Show interest in others by listening, including people, and being kind and respectful.
• Make an effort to maintain friendships through small actions like checking in, inviting others, and following through on plans.
• Set healthy boundaries and speak up if something feels uncomfortable or unfair.
• Ask for help from a trusted adult if friendships are causing ongoing stress or hurt.

Social Media platforms on notice

From mid-December, eSafety has been monitoring age-restricted platforms to assess how they are complying with their obligations to prevent under-16s from having accounts. It is clear the restrictions are already having an impact. Based on information gathered through legally enforceable notices, many platforms have removed, deactivated or restricted a large number of under‑age accounts. 

However, based on the information gathered, including through submissions from the public, field research with parents and carers and engagement with key stakeholders, children under 16 continue to retain accounts, create new ones, or pass platforms’ age checks.

Because of these concerns, eSafety is now focusing its investigations on five major platforms - Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube. These platforms have been notified about our concerns and expectations for improvement and warned eSafety will take enforcement action if they fail to take reasonable steps to prevent systemic failures that allow children under 16 from having accounts on their service.  

Major reforms like this take time – not just to embed, but to spark a broader cultural shift in how industry designs services to keep children safer online.  It won’t happen overnight, and although we can see some progress has been made, it's clear there's still a way to go.   

This update explains what eSafety has learned so far since the legislation took effect on 10 December 2025. We will continue to provide transparency where we can while protecting the integrity of our ongoing regulatory processes and provide relevant up-to-date information for the community, including children and young people, parents and carers and educators at our social media age restrictions hub. 

eSafety remains committed to holding platforms accountable, and ensuring these restrictions deliver real change for Australian families.

Headspace Newsletter

Headspace have released their first Community Newsletter for 2026, with a quick snapshot of their current intake timeframes, workshop offerings, free family sessions, and how they’re supporting young people following the Bondi terror attack.

Their wait times are currently low, and the intake team aims to respond to all referrals within two business days. Young people and families are also welcome to self-refer directly by phone or email.

• headspace Elsternwick | (03) 9076 7500 | headspaceelsternwick@alfred.org.au
• headspace Bentleigh | (03) 9076 9400 | headspacebentleigh@alfred.org.au

They’re also open for school bookings and always happy to tailor sessions to suit your needs – if you’d like to chat about how they can support, just contact headspace via the details above and they will find a time that suits you.