Protecting Your Child in a Digital World

The Use of Technology at Home

Technology plays a significant role in our lives, offering many opportunities for learning, creativity, and connection. However, as children grow, their exposure to online spaces, especially social media, can have a strong influence on how they think, feel, and interact with others.

We are committed to supporting our students to use technology safely and respectfully. While digital tools are valuable learning resources, they must be used with care and supervision. For this reason, we have made a conscious decision not to send home online homework. This approach allows us to ensure that learning remains safe, purposeful, and developmentally appropriate. It also helps students engage in meaningful, hands-on tasks that encourage creativity, collaboration, and positive connections with family.

Social Media and Age Restrictions

The Australian Government recently announced that from 10th December 2025 there will be new laws around the use of social media platforms for under 16, including already established accounts. These laws reflect growing recognition of the potential risks that social media poses to young people’s wellbeing.

The changes aim to protect under-16s from pressures and risks they can be exposed to while logged in to social media accounts. These come from design features in the platforms that:

• encourage them to spend too much time on screens – for example, by prompting them with streams of notifications and alerts, and pressuring them to view disappearing content
• increase the likelihood of exposure to negative, upsetting or manipulative content served up in their feeds by algorithms.

These features have been linked to harms to health and wellbeing – including increased stress levels, and reduced sleep and concentration. 

What the Research Tells Us

Research consistently highlights that early use of social media can lead to increased anxiety, difficulty managing emotions, reduced attention, and disrupted sleep patterns. Children are particularly vulnerable to the pressures of online validation, exposure to harmful content, and misunderstandings that can occur in digital spaces.

How will these new laws be enforced?

Most social media services currently have a minimum age requirement for account holders, but often they do not enforce it. That won’t be acceptable anymore. There are systems and technologies that make this possible while preserving the privacy of users. Some are already being used by social media platforms.

Age-restricted platforms will have to take steps to stop under-16s getting around the law. This includes having ways to prevent under-16s from faking their age by using false identity documents

Platforms may assess age-related signals which can help work out if someone is under 16. These signals can include:  

• how long an account has been active
• whether the account holder interacts with content targeted at children under 16
• analysis of the language level and style used by the account holder and the people they interact with
• visual checks, such as facial age analysis of the account holder’s photos and videos
• audio analysis, such as age estimation of the voice of the account holder
• activity patterns consistent with school schedules
• connections with other users who appear to be under 16
• membership in youth-focused groups, forums or communities.

By working together, we can help children build the social and emotional skills needed to navigate technology positively and responsibly.

For more information, you may wish to visit:

Georgie Carmen                                                  Dean Butler

Wellbeing Leader                                                Deputy Principal