This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Public debates about kids and media often focus on harm. Children are usually seen as vulnerable media users who need adult guidance and protection.
Australia's social media ban for children under 16 rests on the idea that children are vulnerable to harm online, and it's up to adults to guide and protect them. But what if learning also runs the other way? Traditionally, we think of socialization, the way we learn how to behave and get by in the world, as something that flows from adults to children.
Reverse socialization describes what happens when knowledge and influence travel the other way. Some international studies show younger generations, often quick to adopt new technology, can introduce their parents to new digital tools. It's something our new book shows is playing out in Australian homes, too.
In 2025, before the social media ban came in, we surveyed 435 Australian parents of children aged 7 to 15. It was the third national survey by the Child and Family Mediascape Research Group (CFMRG). We asked parents if their child had taught them anything about technology or trends in the past year.
If so, we asked them what they'd learned and what it was like. Nearly 40% of parents said their child had taught them something about screens, and the range was remarkably wide, from TikTok and Roblox to AI, influencers and the latest microtrends. "Every time there is a new game, I hear about it.
He was actually the one who showed me what AI was." said the mother of an 11-year-old boy in New South Wales. Mother of a 14-year-old girl in Western Australia added, "She's interested in AI so has shown me what AI can do. Has pointed out how some things are AI-generated videos." But parents weren't simply learning what's new or popular.
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