Mac had been terrorised by an online predator posing as a young girl who wanted to exchange nudes. Upon receiving the photos, he blackmailed Mac, eventually releasing them.

“Mac had to go to football training the following afternoon and the photos had reached some of those boys. He never ever recovered from that,” Wayne said.

Now Wayne is taking action through Unplug24, a campaign calling for Aussies to abstain from social media for 24 hours on the 24th.

A growing list of big names is now behind the movement, from singer Jessica Mauboy to basketball legend Shane Heal to AFL star Brayden Maynard.

Other sports stars and politicians are also on board.

Wayne’s family is driven by the hope that they might be able to save other teens struggling like Mac before it’s too late.

Wayne told The Project that he “can remember him [Mac] being on social media for hours during Covid,” and he believes if there had been tighter restrictions and regulations on social media, “ I think it would’ve made a difference… I really do.”

Touching on the difficulty of the Unplug24 challenge, Wayne doesn’t deny that kids will “find it really, really hard. This is a hard challenge.”

“They’re addicted to it. We as adults have to set an example,” he said.

“Show your children the way, that you’re in charge of social media, and that social media isn’t in charge of you.”

Wayne suggests that instead of being plugged in, use this time to “have conversations face to face with your friends and family.”

”If we save one person through this campaign, then it’s worth it.”