On 10 December 2025, the Albanese Government’s social media ban officially came into effect, with major platforms instructed to start blocking children aged under 16 from creating accounts or face hefty fines if they fail to comply.
The Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024, which passed Parliament in late November 2024, is in response to reports showing the negative impact that social media can have on the health, wellbeing, and safety, of young Australians.
While the move has been welcomed by many across the education and cybersafety spaces, some experts have cautioned that something critical is missing from the conversation: education itself.
‘Restrictions manage access, but education builds ability’
Stacey Edmonds is a former teacher who moved into the cyber safety industry where she has made her mark as a “trailblazing social scientist and EdTech innovator at the intersection of cybersecurity and human behaviour.”
She says that while Australia argues about whether the social media ban will work, how kids will get around it, and which platforms they will jump to next, education itself is missing from the conversation.
“Restrictions manage access, but education builds ability,” Edmonds told The Educator. “A ban might reduce exposure today, but it doesn’t teach a child what to do when the restriction lifts or when the risk moves to the next app.”
Education makes safety “portable”, says Edmonds.
“It helps children recognise manipulation, grooming tactics, misinformation and coercive design patterns wherever they appear,” she said. “Finland offers a useful reference point, treating media literacy as a core, cross-curricular skill from early years rather than an optional add-on.”
This is also an equity issue, Edmonds pointed out.
“Many fee-paying schools already have a Digital Learning Lead, or a small team, who can move quickly and reinforce skills across the year,” she said. “Public schools need that same funded capability if we want consistent outcomes.”
Teaching threat recognition beats relying on reactive bans
Edmonds says bans are reactive whereas threat recognition is transferable, noting that bad actors don’t rely on a specific platform.
“They rely on social engineering tactics like urgency, secrecy, flattery, threats and isolation,” she explained. “Teach those patterns and students can protect themselves wherever the risk shows up.”
Edmonds said it follows the same logic as road safety.
“You don’t just forbid roads, you teach children how to navigate them. For this to work in schools, skills need to be practiced and revisited, not delivered once after an incident hits the news,” she said. “The focus should be on behaviours that persist across environments and on competence, because as Albert Bandura reminds us, ‘a capability is only as good as its execution’.”
Predators adapt faster than policy
Edmonds said that while policy moves at the speed of consultation, predators move at the speed of product features.
“When platforms change, tactics re-skin,” she said. “New app, same playbook.”
Most harm online isn’t clever technology, it’s clever psychology, Edmonds said.
“That’s social engineering. Instead of attacking devices, the attacker works on you via your habits, emotions and vulnerabilities. This is why waiting for the next rule is never enough,” she said.
“Education needs to prepare students to recognise these patterns early, so they are equipped for whatever platform comes next, not just the one making headlines today.”
Practical tips for kids and parents
Edmonds noted some practical ways to empower children and parents to navigate digital spaces safely.
“Empowerment should feel like everyday safety, like learning to cross a road or use a knife; digital is the same,” she said. “Give children simple habits and scripts they can use anywhere, starting with one repeatable question: ‘Is it dodgy or not?’ That pause builds judgement.”
Edmonds said it is important to keep the actions clear and consistent, such as saving the evidence, blocking, reporting, and telling a trusted adult.
“Parents need support too. Just because kids are home, it doesn’t mean they’re ‘at home’ online. Most parents didn’t get this education, and many teachers are learning alongside them,” she said.
“Confidence comes from consistency, supported by schools that can reinforce skills throughout the year.”