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For some families, the social media ban has made things harder. Here's why
Families share how they have been managing social media with their kids since the under-16s ban came into effect late last year. (Pexels)
It's been a little more than two months since Australia's social media ban took effect.
Parents have navigated the changes for most of that time during the long Christmas school holidays.
So how are families coping?
We spoke with three parents about how it has impacted their family and the different choices they're making around the ban.
'It's not just a hobby for them'
Peter De Waard, father of two, Kabi Kabi/Sunshine Coast
Peter De Waard says the social media ban has had a big impact on him and on his teenage sons' alternative rock band.
His eldest son, 15-year-old Pete Jr, used to manage the Wave Raiders social media accounts on several different platforms until the ban came into play.
"He was doing that since he was 12 … and he was doing it under my guidance," Mr De Waard says.
"If there was any ever any issues in relation to comments, he would let me know and I would always try and monitor it as best I could as well."
Peter De Waard manages the social media accounts for his sons' alternative rock band. (Supplied: Wave Raiders)
Mr De Waard says the band is not just a hobby for the three boys, which includes his younger son Thomas De Waard (13) and friend Jayden Georg (14).
"This is a business, the boys see this as their career," he says.
"To get gigs, you need to show that you have a solid following.
"The only way you can show that you have a solid following is through social media."
Mr De Waard says he has now taken over full-time responsibility for managing the accounts, which were originally created under his name.
"Everything's done through me and on my devices, I get all the notifications and it's an absolute nightmare, to be honest," he says.
"It's not something that I really want to be doing."
The former coronial lawyer says while he understands the ban may have been a necessary measure to help protect some children, he believes ultimately, social media access should be a parental responsibility.
Peter De Waard (far right) and Stephan Georg (far left) with their sons' band. (Supplied: Peter De Waard)
"For some kids, banning social media is absolutely the right measure," he says.
"For others, it's way more harmful than positive.
"And I think musicians [are] an example of where that's the case."
'It's removed a space of authentic connection'
Amanda Lennestaal, mother of three, Sydney/Gadigal
The introduction of the social media ban came at an unfortunate time for single mother of three Amanda Brummell Lennestaal.
The full-time worker, who has teenage children with disabilities, says she had to juggle the long Christmas school holiday break without her kids having access to their usual social media platforms.
"It's removed a space of authentic connection and it's not an easy replace," she says.
"What I observe from my parenting is that for kids with disabilities, those online spaces are actually some of the most accessible social environments, where you don't have the physical, sensory, or even at times communication barriers."
Social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube are now banned for people under 16 years of age in Australia. (Unsplash: Rob Hampson)
She says she has had to navigate her children wanting to use other social media platforms (not included in the ban) that she considers "far more dangerous".
"There's this in-kid world, they know [a platform] is unsafe, but that's where they're going because the need for connection still remains."
She says her children aren't able to attend mainstream school holidays activities or organised sports, and social media helped fill that gap in community connection.
"[There's] a lack of social infrastructure that's inclusive for young people and kids," she says.
"And then you cut off social media, which is that community engagement, voice, expression, exploration of identity.
"And it means, in my opinion, kids like mine are less visible, less heard.
"Even if that wasn't the intention, the effect is a really powerful effect and [in our case] it's quite detrimental to them."
'Get them to find something else to do'
Craig Muldoon, father of three, Tarntanya/Adelaide
Craig Muldoon has three children aged 10 and under who didn't have access to popular social media platforms like Instagram or Snapchat.
He says the main issue his family has experienced since the ban is changes to YouTube.
"[I] had a premium account, so by adding them onto my account, it removed ads for them and gave them a curated way of viewing videos," he says.
"We were able to actually see what they were watching as well and monitor that."
Mr Muldoon says he still permits his children to watch YouTube, but they now do it under a "guest mode".
"So, it's really just removed the benefits that we had without really protecting them in any sort of way," he says.
"Because they weren't using comments or any sort of social component to YouTube."
Mr Muldoon says it has required a greater amount of parental oversight to check what his children are watching.
He says more recently he has instigated a ban on YouTube completely, to encourage other activities.
"YouTube was the greatest draw card for them to actually be watching TV, so banning them was enough to get them to find something else to do."
He says his children have friends who were still using other banned social media platforms like Snapchat and Instagram.
"So, I think … the ban has … made things a little bit more difficult for some people and probably has done nothing to make things safer for the kids who were going to use the platforms anyway."