Life Ed supports the social media delay
Wednesday, 1 Oct 2025
According to the eSafety Commissioner’s 2022 Mind the Gap study [1]: Six in ten children have experienced something online that has bothered or upset them in the past year.
Almost two-thirds of young people aged 14 to 17 said they have been exposed to potentially negative user-generated content online.
45% of surveyed children reported that they have been treated in a hurtful or nasty way online.
The increasingly digital world means that children are being exposed to online challenges earlier in life.
In order to keep them safe, there is a critical need for action.
That’s why we support the Federal Government’s decision to delay social media for children under the age of 16 years,
“Online safety and wellbeing for children is a complex issue that requires a complex solution. Government has an important role in regulating this space and the new laws coming into effect on 10 December will allow us to better safeguard our children”.
“It is also vital that we work together to use the time created by the social media delay to educate children when it counts – before they face difficult decisions in the online world.”
Life Ed advocates for a comprehensive, multifaceted approach to keeping our kids safe online. This includes the delivery of age-appropriate education early and often, alongside suitable safeguarding measures to ensure children are protected until they are developmentally ready and confident in seeking out, understanding and thinking critically about information in order to stay healthy, safe and well into the future.
A whole-of-school approach to online safety
Life Ed is a trusted eSafety provider and has been supporting schools, families and communities with education on online safety and wellbeing since 2016.
“We developed one of the first eSafety modules in Australia, bCyberwise for Year 3 and 4 students. To address the rise in online abuse and cyberbullying, we produced Relate Respect Connect for Year 5 and 6 students. As the digital world continues to expand, in 2025 we launched Harold’s Online World for Year 1 and 2 children, addressing a developing need in the early years of primary school and allowing Life Ed to have a more impactful whole-of-school approach,” continued Mr D’Costa.
“Our modules are comprised of tailored interactive learning sessions for students, and pre and post visit resources for teachers and parents so they can continue the conversation in and beyond the classroom.”
All material is evidence-informed, strengths-based and aligns with the Australian Curriculum, state syllabi, eSafety Commissioner’s Best Practice Framework for Online Safety Education, and World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recommendations on digital health for children and adolescents.
Life Ed’s educational content is regularly and rigorously reviewed and updated to align with evolving policy and legislative requirements, like the social media delay, so schools can be confident students are receiving learning that is relevant, compliant, and impactful.
[1] eSafety Commissioner (2022). Mind the Gap: Parental awareness of children’s exposure to risks online, Aussie Kids Online, Melbourne: eSafety Commissioner
