Wellbeing News
St. Joseph's College
Social media changes are coming
Supporting young people in a changing social media age
(Information sourced from the eSafety Commission)
From 10 December 2025, many social media platforms won’t be allowed to let Australians under 16 create or keep an account. This is to protect children from accessing inappropriate content and design features that encourage them to spend too much time online.
Under 16s will still be able to see publicly available social media content that doesn’t require logging into an account.
What you need to know:
- The age restrictions are likely to apply to Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X and YouTube, as well as other platforms. See the latest list.
- Under 16s will still be able to see publicly available social media content that doesn’t require logging into an account.
- Schools may need to explore alternative methods for communicating with parents and students.
- There are exclusions for a number of platforms, including educational tools such as learning management systems. For example, Google Classroom and YouTube Kids will not be age restricted, and YouTube videos that can be seen without logging in can still be shared by teachers.
Find out what you can do today to prepare for the new social media age restrictions and stay connected to the people and things you love.
It's a big change and you may be worried about losing access to your favourite people, content and communities. But with a bit of prep work, there are other ways you can stay connected, express yourself, find out about things and have fun.
This 8-step guide will help you work through what you can do now to get ready.
You can download or print the action plan at the end of this page, then fill it in to keep track of your progress.
https://www.esafety.gov.au/young-people/social-media-age-restrictions/get-ready-guide
- Understand what’s changing and why
- Work out which accounts you will lose
- Map your digital world
- Explore other ways to connect and belong
- Build your community
- Protect your digital memories
- Avoid last-minute stress
- Find support
As a school community, we would like to help our young people prepare for this change as we acknowledge that change can be challenging. We want our young people to engage in positive offline connections and continue to provide guidance about online safety.
Students will receive an email outlining the steps (get ready guide). If you have any questions regarding the changes, I encourage you to access the link below.
More information for parents and young people can be found at the eSafety Commissioner - Social media age restrictions hub.
https://www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/industry-regulation/social-media-age-restrictions-hub
Shari Gotch
College Leader - Wellbeing