ON December 10, Victoria’s under-16 social media ban officially begins, hailed by the Federal Government as a bold step to protect young people from the well-documented harms of online platforms. The intentions are good, even overdue. But let’s be honest: a law alone won’t outsmart the most digitally fluent generation this country has ever raised.
Today’s teenagers navigate technology with the ease previous generations reserved for riding a bike. Blocking access on paper is one thing; stopping a determined 14-year-old who can set up a VPN, create a burner account, or borrow an older sibling’s phone is quite another. These kids aren’t just tech-comfortable, they’re tech-creative. If the ban becomes a game of cat and mouse between regulators and teenagers, we already know who’s quickest on their feet.
That’s not to dismiss the policy outright. Any step that slows the flood of harmful content, online bullying, addictive algorithms or predatory behaviour is worth exploring. The psychological toll social media takes on young people is real, measurable and deeply troubling. We can’t shrug and say “that’s just the modern world” while rates of anxiety, body image issues and cyberbullying continue to climb.
But the ban risks becoming a symbolic gesture unless paired with serious, sustained work in the real world, work that involves parents, schools, tech companies and, crucially, the young people themselves.
Parents, for a start, need support. Many feel overwhelmed by a digital landscape they never grew up with, unsure how to monitor, moderate or even understand the platforms their kids are using. Education programs and simple, practical tools will matter far more than another layer of regulation. A parent who knows how to check a device’s privacy settings is more effective than a blanket rule any day.
Schools also have a role: not as digital police, but as digital educators. We teach road safety long before a child sits behind a wheel; we need the same approach to online life. Digital literacy should be as fundamental as English and maths, teaching kids not just how to use technology, but how to navigate risk, think critically and understand the stakes of their online choices.
And tech companies, flush with billions in profit, cannot keep shrugging off responsibility. Age verification that actually works, algorithm transparency, and platforms designed with child safety in mind should be the baseline, not the exception.
The December 10 ban may slow some kids down. But it won’t stop them. The real solution lies not in pretending we can fence off the digital world, but in equipping young people to walk through it safely. Because the truth is simple: if we don’t outsmart the platforms, the platforms will outsmart us, and our kids will be the ones paying the price.
But then, that’s just my opinion.
