Health & Wellbeing News

This fortnight in our Health and Wellbeing section, we would like to let parents know about some fantastic, FREE upcoming parenting workshops for parents of children aged 2-7 years. The programs are presented by Parentzone, the parenting support branch of Anglicare Victoria, and are run by skilled, experienced facilitators.

Whilst it is free to attend the programs, bookings are essential so please check each flyer and register using the relevant QR code.

Social media minimum age changes:  From mid-December, Australian children under 16 will not be allowed to hold accounts on certain social media platforms. The age restrictions are likely to apply to Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube, among other platforms. Online gaming and standalone messaging apps are among a number of types of services that will not be included. 

Holding and being logged into an account increases the likelihood that under-16s will be exposed to pressures and risks that can be hard to deal with. For example, the pressure to constantly respond to notifications and alerts, and the risk of exposure to content that can harm their wellbeing. Delaying account access until 16 will give young people more time to build digital literacy, critical reasoning, social and emotional skills and resilience. It’s important that we support under-16s by talking openly about the age restrictions, finding out how they currently use social media and how they may be impacted by the law.