If you want to support independent women's media, become a Mamamia subscriber . Get an all-access pass to everything we make, including exclusive podcasts, articles, videos and our exercise app, MOVE.

Hands up whose kids still have access to all the banned apps? 

C'mon, don't be shy. 

As an online safety educator, I can tell you lots of kids here in Australia are still accessing their favourite social media apps, though they're pretty reluctant to admit it. 

But they have nothing to be ashamed of. They are not breaking the law. Neither are their parents or teachers if they become aware kids are still on Insta, Snap, and TikTok. 

Here's the truth that keeps getting buried. The Australian government has not banned our kids from social media. 

Watch: The social media ban is our generation's seatbelt moment. Post continues below.

The Australian Social Media Minimum Age Law bans social media companies from accessing Australian kids under 16.

Not the other way around.

That distinction is everything.

When I say, "banned access," I'm not talking about stopping Mark Zuckerberg from knocking on your child's bedroom door or sliding into their DMs.

I'm talking about systematic harvesting of their data, their online life patterns, their vulnerabilities, their developing identities that are being mined, packaged, and sold through the apps themselves. 

So if your child is under 16 and still on the apps, they have done nothing wrong. 

The law hasn't failed. The responsibility has simply been directed back to where it's always belonged: with Big Tech. If Australian kids can still keep or create under-16 accounts, that isn't a parenting failure, and it isn't a teenage crime, it's a platform failure. 

Your child isn't the one breaking the rules. 

The obligation, and the consequences, sit with the companies who risk fines up to $49.5million for non-compliance.  

Every time we go online, we leave a trail, like breadcrumbs, of what we search, watch, message,  share and click — plus the quiet details like where we are, when we're active, what we buy, and who we're connected to. Piece by piece, that trail becomes a digital footprint, that footprint leads back to us, to our kids. 

Gone are the days when we could chalk tech dilemmas up to mere parental angst.

The Age Delay acts like a digital seatbelt — it's designed to keep our children safe while they navigate the sometimes turbulent online landscape. Kids are often thrust into this world without fully understanding the terms and conditions lurking in the background, granting these companies the keys to their personal data.  

The Age Delay legislation isn't about punishing our kids for being on social media; it's a precautionary measure.

Think of it as a safety net. It's not illegal to gaze over a high, unstable cliff,  but it's not necessarily safe. That's why we have railings. These measures operate in the same way. Not to prevent kids going online, to protect them from the possible dangers of online interactions. 

I want parents to know the horrid narrative being touted in some quarters that our kids online behaviours are 'unruly' and 'out of control' is unfair.

The fact is we've all been assured of the benefits of handing our kids devices and encouraging them to use them. So where is the sense in now punishing them for gaining mastery over technology we placed in their hands?

Now we as a society have an obligation to do whatever we can to undo the damage and prevent it happening again. 

Preparing our kids for the digital playground starts with open communication. Talk to them about their online experiences and encourage them to express their concerns. If something doesn't feel right—be it a strange message or an awkward post—they should know they can come to you. 

And just as importantly, we must make sure our children know this: if something goes wrong online, they have done nothing wrong and it is safe to speak up!

Whether it's sexual extortion, image-based abuse, grooming, or being pressured to send something they regret, silence is what puts young people in real danger. Shame is what predators rely on. The earlier a young person tells a trusted adult, the safer they are. 

They need to hear clearly and repeatedly: 

You will not be punished for coming forward. 

You are not "in trouble" for being targeted. 

Help is available. 

At its heart, this isn't about punishment. It's about protection. 

Listen: Is opting out of the 'digital footprint' a smart move, or does it just make you the 'weird' privacy parent who everyone is accidentally tagging anyway? Post continues below.

It's about giving young people time — time to mature, time to build digital literacy, and time to step into adult-designed social media environments when they are better equipped to handle the pressures, risks and responsibilities that come with them. 

In my experience, the Age Delay is about fostering a safe space, not punishment or a framework of guilt.

This is not a judgment call of us parents, teachers or carers for inviting technology into our homes and into our children's lives.

The future is digital; it's not optional. This is about putting blame where it belongs: that is squarely at the feet of Big Tech, who have monetized our privacy under the guise of connection for too long, and knowingly endangered our kids' safety and called it entertainment. 

The future might be digital, but we have the power to make it safe.

Feature Image: Instagram/@msmadswest.