Will it work?

Look, I'm gonna be straight with you. December 10th is coming fast, and if you're a parent in Australia, you need to watch this.

We sat down with three absolute legends in the cyber safety and psychology space—Dr. Michael Carr-Gregg (psychologist with 35 years dealing with kids and tech), Susan McLean (former cop who's been fighting cybercrime since 1994), and Nural (high school teacher who's seen it all for 20 years)—and asked them the question everyone's thinking:

Will banning social media for under-16s actually protect our kids?

The answer? It's complicated. And honestly, a bit terrifying.

Here's what you need to know RIGHT NOW:

🚨 The platforms covered: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, X (Twitter), YouTube
🚨 What's NOT banned: WhatsApp, Discord, Roblox, game chat
🚨 The enforcement: Zero penalties for kids or parents. Yep, you read that right.

Michael drops some hard truths about algorithms that "have the ethics of a cash register" and how they're deliberately spiraling kids into body shaming, violence, and worse. Susan reveals why your Instagram feed looks NOTHING like your teenager's (spoiler: you're not seeing the vape ads and predator messages they are). And the VPN loophole? Every kid in primary school already knows about it.

But here's the bit that got me: The Communications Minister literally said "parents, there is nothing you need to do."

Susan's response? "That's the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard."

Because here's the reality—this ban might actually make things WORSE by giving parents a false sense of security while kids just... work around it. And platforms like Roblox (which the Federal Police say is responsible for 100% of sadistic online child abuse cases) aren't even covered.

The full episode drops Wednesday where we go deep into:

What parents ACTUALLY need to do (spoiler: a lot)
The neuroscience behind why kids can't resist social media
Why your child's brain needs YOU to be their "frontal cortex" until their late 20s
Practical strategies that actually work
📚 Want the official info? Check out the eSafety Commissioner's hub: https://www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/i...

This isn't about fear-mongering. It's about understanding what we're actually dealing with so we can protect our kids properly. Because legislation without education? That's just theatre.

Question for you: Do you think the social media ban will work, or are we just creating a false sense of security? Drop your thoughts below—I'm genuinely curious what other parents and professionals are thinking about this.

See you Wednesday for the full episode. Trust me, you'll want to hear what these experts have to say.

— Bora

subscribe to ‪@talkingteensofficial‬ and ‪@DumbWaystogetHacked‬

#CyberSecurity #OnlineSafety #SocialMediaBan #ParentingTips #AustralianParents #DigitalParenting #ChildSafety #DumbWaysToGetHacked #CyberSafetyEducation #MentalHealth #TeenSafety #AlgorithmAwareness #parentingadvice #parenting #parentingtips #teenmentalhealth #teenparenting #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthmatters #teenparenting #bodyimage #talkingteensofficial #communicationskills #communication #connectionovercorrection #socialmediaban #australia #podcast