Are they old enough?

We suggest considering these questions to determine whether your child is ready for social media.  

Is your child able to withstand negative online experiences?

If you think your child would be very upset by a negative experience online, you may need to guide them closely if you allow them to establish a social media account.  

Look through online profiles and public feeds together, and talk about how some people behave differently online. Teach them how to filter abusive comments, block and report people.

Does your child understand the importance of protecting their personal information?  

Explaining to a child why privacy is important can be difficult. Start by describing what personal information is. Emphasise that it includes anything that can identify them, such as their mobile number, email address, photos, the name of their school, and any sporting clubs they belong to. Remind them that photos can contain information that could be used to identify them, such as a photo taken right outside your house or a photo of them in their school uniform.  

Let them know that if they share personal information online, it could mean that others, including strangers could use it in ways they may not have thought about. Someone could even post bullying messages or inappropriate photos on social media while pretending to be them.

Does your child understand how privacy settings for social media work?

Show your child how to view the privacy settings for each social media service you use and talk them through how you decided on which settings to use in your own accounts.

Does your child understand what is safe to share online?

If you are concerned your child may post personal information that allows people to identify and locate them — even after you have talked through the dangers — then they may need your help to use social media sites.

Talk about the risks of ‘checking in’, tagging people in photos, sharing nude or sexually suggestive pictures, meeting online friends in person, making offensive comments, and what is not acceptable.

Does your child know how to report cyberbullying and other kinds of abusive content?

Although there are huge benefits to being connected through social media, your child may experience some form of online bullying or harassment. If this happens, it is important that they know how to manage and report this behaviour. Together with your child, check the safety resources for individual social media services and look for information about how to block and report.

You can also report abusive content to us. We deal with three key types of reports:

• Cyberbullying— if you are under 18, or making a report on behalf of someone who is under 18, you can make a complaint about online bullying.
• Image-based abuse— if an intimate image has been shared, or someone is threatening to share it, without your consent, you can make a report no matter what your age.
• Child sexual abuse material— we prioritise the investigation of online child sexual abuse material and work with law enforcement to remove this content wherever it is hosted.

Is your child willing to let you establish clear rules and supervise their social media activity?

It is a good idea to supervise your child’s online activity, at least initially and certainly with younger children. Be clear on things like when and where online devices can be used and when they need to be switched off. The way a preschooler or younger child begins to use connected devices will instil good online habits from the start and help them transition to using social media later on.

When your child first starts to use social media, talk with them about how to do this in a way that you are both comfortable with. Help them to understand why and how you would like to support them as they begin to explore. It may be tricky having this conversation, particularly with tweens and teens, but getting their agreement will keep the lines of communication open between you and ensure that they feel able to come to you for help if they encounter any problems. This is especially important so you can continue to support them.  

Come to an agreement you are both comfortable with about how they can use these services. You might discuss the following:

• Which types of content they can post — it is a good idea to look at examples together and discuss the pros and cons of different posts.
• How often they should post.
• How often you are comfortable with them checking social media.

Another strategy is to become their friend or follow their social media accounts. This will enable you to observe what they are doing online and support them to make safer choices about what they share and how they share it.  But be prepared to learn more than you might like about their friends and possibly about them.  

Try to resist talking about the specifics of their online activity unless, for example, you are worried about particular things they have posted — and keep your comments offline. It is much better to start the chat in person, one-on-one, and let them guide the discussion if specific issues come up, than it is to post online safety tips in comment form. If you intervene too much or comment publicly, it can embarrass them and break their trust. This may prompt them to use a separate profile without your knowledge or restrict what you can see by sharing to restricted groups of friends or followers, before you think they are ready to venture out on their own.

Finding the right balance about how much to supervise your child’s online activity will depend on your family’s culture and the individual needs of your child. Be prepared for your child to need more support from you at particular times, and to resist your support at other times. Eventually they will be ready to explore on their own — but keep the lines of communication open so they can come to you with any concerns they may have.