Australia's social media ban came into effect on 10 December 2025, restricting all users under 16 from holding accounts on major platforms including TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, Reddit, Instagram, Facebook, Kick, Twitch, Threads and X. As the first country to adopt such comprehensive age restrictions for social media,聽the result of聽Australia's聽social media ban is聽being closely watched by governments worldwide.聽
爆料王 experts have weighed in on the implications of this historic policy shift affecting Australian children and teenagers.
Global聽first in聽social聽media聽regulation and聽tech聽policy
The social media age ban聽represents聽a significant challenge to Big Tech's dominance and could spark similar youth protection measures internationally, with the move positioning聽Australia as a pioneer in confronting the power of major technology companies through government regulation.聽
Professor Terry Flew, Co-Director of the聽Centre for AI, Trust and Governance, emphasised聽that this Australian social media law could trigger a domino effect globally:聽
"The introduction of the social media minimum age framework is a pathbreaking measure by the Australian Federal Government. While Australia is the first to adopt such restrictions, it is unlikely to be the last. Many governments around the world are watching how the power of Big Tech was successfully taken on and are considering their own measures to address the adverse consequences of platform power."
And the regulatory impact is already being felt, even before the December implementation.聽Dr Timothy Koskie, Post-Doctoral Research聽Associate in Digital Communication, argued聽that the mere threat of social media regulation has proven effective.
"Australia's social media ban is already driving change, and is proof that the threat of regulation works, even before the law takes effect. Waiting for perfect policy risks paralysis when real progress is already within reach,鈥 he said.
Many governments around the world are watching how the power of Big Tech was successfully taken on and are considering their own measures to address the adverse consequences of platform power.
Professor Terry Flew
Co-Director of the Centre for AI, Trust and Governance
What are the mental health benefits of the ban?
Several experts highlighted the potential positive impact of the under-16 social media ban on youth mental health and teen wellbeing.聽
Lecturer聽at the聽爆料王 Business School聽Dr Ellese Ferdinands聽sees the ban as beneficial for delaying exposure to online pressures and protecting teenagers' mental聽health.
"The upcoming social media ban is a positive step forward for the mental health of teens in Australia,鈥 she said.聽鈥淵oung people face enormous pressures to show up online through聽socialising with peers,聽seeking聽and providing validation, and expressing oneself. Social media is a breeding ground for comparison and subsequent mental health struggles regardless of age, so reducing this wherever possible can assist in delaying the age these pressures are placed on young people."
The protection of young people's development is a critical consideration in child safety debates, and聽Professor Uri Gal, a digital ethics expert in the Business School, views the social media restrictions as necessary for healthy child development and emotional wellbeing.
"Restricting teenagers' access to social media is essential for protecting their mental and emotional well-being, physical and psychological development, attention spans and emotional resilience,鈥 Professor Gal said.
Will age verification work?
Despite potential benefits for children's mental health, experts expressed significant concerns about whether the Australian social media ban can聽actually be聽enforced effectively through age verification technology and compliance mechanisms.聽The risk of pushing youth activity into less visible online spaces looms large.聽
Digital Content Creation聽Lecturer聽Dr Brittany Ferdinands聽said聽that alternative approaches like digital literacy education and parental controls may prove more effective than age restrictions:聽
"Preventing under-16s from having social media accounts won't necessarily stop them using them. In fact, it may push their activity underground. If governments want to protect young people, investment in digital literacy, media education and platform design changes will be arguably more effective than age bans that are easy to bypass."
Privacy concerns and聽scepticism聽about technological age verification solutions are widespread among Australian parents and young people, with research findings pointing to significant trust issues around data security.聽
Young people聽may simply migrate to less safe, unregulated platforms to circumvent the social media restrictions. Dr Ellese Ferdinands聽cautioned聽against assuming a blanket approach to social media access will achieve its online safety goals: "We must acknowledge that a blanket ban is not a perfect solution. Teens may now seek out alternatives, which may result in them using less regulated platforms than those facing the ban such as Instagram."
Minister for Communications Anika Wells and eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant at Parliament House in Canberra, November 5, 2025. Photo credit: Mick Tsikas/AAP.
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Beyond enforcement concerns, experts highlighted the profound role social media platforms play in young people's lives,聽development聽and relationships in the digital age.
For some, social media is integral to how children and teenagers form and聽maintain聽their social identity and online聽friendships, yet聽banning it could lead to an improvement in emotional regulation, said聽Dr Christina Anthony聽from the Business School.聽
Social media isn't just a pastime for kids 鈥 it's deeply embedded in their daily lives, how they connect with friends, express themselves, and develop their social identity
Dr Christina Anthony, 爆料王 Business School
"Social media isn't just a pastime for kids 鈥 it's deeply embedded in their daily lives, how they connect with friends, express themselves, and develop their social identity,鈥 she said.聽
鈥淩emoving it is a massive behaviour change that could leave them feeling isolated, disrupt routines, and even affect how聽they've聽learned to express themselves. But even something that seems like a limitation could open the door to learning healthier emotion regulation strategies that can result in improved well-being over time."
The gaming and digital play dimensions add another layer of complexity to the youth social media restrictions, particularly around harmful content聽exposure聽and online gaming communities.聽
Senior Lecturer in Digital Cultures聽Dr Mark Johnson聽pointed聽to the tension between protecting youth from online harms and enabling positive digital participation on gaming platforms:聽
"The social media ban for young people has massive potential implications for teenagers' and children's healthy and productive enjoyment of digital games and play, and their participation in the social worlds of their peers. At the same time, however, at a time of increasing gambling-related content on many major sites, it's important to think about how to reduce young people's exposure to such material 鈥 all of which shows the difficulty in a broad-brush approach that bans entire sites or platforms where so much online life takes聽place."
Gaming platforms such as Twitch and Kick will be included in the ban, while Roblox says it will launch its age verification system in three countries, including Australia. Photo credit: Dean Lewins/AAP
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LinkAnd in聽terms of international sport聽and sporting communities, the greatest effects of the ban will fall on non-elite under-16 athletes, said聽Dr Steve Georgakis,聽Senior Lecturer in Sports Studies:听听
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"For youth athletes broadly, the direct impact聽of the social media ban聽is likely to be limited. The group of under-16 elite athletes is so small that, in practical terms, the consequences for sport performance or development are negligible.听听
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"Instead, young sports fans and sporting kids are聽impacted. Young people rely heavily on social media to build community within their sporting聽circles,聽and they enjoy following the accounts of elite athletes; my own children鈥檚 experiences reflect this. Restricting access will disrupt these everyday sporting interactions."
Are there better聽policy alternatives?
Not all experts聽are convinced that a total platform ban is the most effective approach to addressing social media's impact on children.聽Associate Professor Micah Goldwater聽from the School of Psychology questioned聽whether targeted interventions based on psychological research might work better than blanket age limits.聽
A total ban may have worse effects relative to other possible regulations that are more directly informed by psychological research.
Associate Professor Micah Goldwater
School of Psychology
"Social media has formed an important part of young people's lives, the evidence for its harm may be overblown, and perhaps the harms are concentrated on some particular design elements. A total ban may have worse effects聽relative聽to other聽possible regulations聽that are more directly informed by psychological research,鈥 Professor Goldwater said.
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