When should parents let their kids have TikTok, YouTube, Facebook?

As the debates have already started in our house over social media and its uses, I’m glad the Aussie prime minister is supportive of upping the age limit on accounts, writes Letea Cavander

In a world where a six-year-old thinks being an influencer is a viable career and is already begging me to post her dances to TikTok, I am happy to potentially have government back-up as I maintain that she will not have her own social media accounts until she is 16 years old. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Tim Pascoe

When a six-year-old thinks being an influencer is a viable career and is already begging me to post her dances to TikTok, I am happy to have government back-up as I maintain that she will not have her own social media accounts until she is 16 years old.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he is personally in favour of raising the minimum age of social media to 16, but will work with states on a final proposal to ensure Australia ends up with a nationally consistent limit.

How parents navigate a world where there is reality and then the curated lives of social media is fraught.

I have one friend who has never shown her five-year-old daughter’s face on social media and asked us to do the same for her child.

Another has allowed her six-year-old a smartphone.

One parent has never allowed her child’s face on social media while another allows her six-year-old a smartphone.

We have allowed our daughter to watch YouTube and YouTube Kids on the tellie in the lounge but she has no access to apps on the tablet she is allowed to occasionally use.

And after watching some of what I can only describe as pure crap that she found on YouTube, I have banned her from the adult version of the app but I know as soon as I am out of the house my other half continues to allow it.

The age limit for social media should be 16 years old. Picture: Brett Wortman

At least we agree on the 16 years old age limit for her to have her own social media accounts.

My partner and I are navigating a world in which we have no compass.

He was born in the 1970s and I was the last of the generations to spend most of my childhood internet-free.

The sound of the dial-up connection we had when I was 13 years old still rings in my ears.

But we were free. Free to make mistakes, free to explore the world and more free from the anxiety that over-comparison to others brings.

Our children do not have that luxury, and I think their mental health is reflecting this lack of freedom.

I am worried about how I encourage my daughter’s confidence and contentment in life while also helping give her the tools to make good choices in a world of social media.

I am hoping that holding her off it until she is old enough to understand the consequences of publishing aspects her life online is a step in the right direction.