Australia became the first country in the world to ban social media for under-16s at midnight last night. Malaysia, Denmark and Norway are set to follow suit, and the European Union last week passed a resolution imposing similar restrictions. As the world watches, millions of Australian teenagers and their parents are wondering what will actually change from today.
Supporters of the “delay” policy believe that restricting access to social media for those under 16 will reduce the mental health risks, exposure to harmful content, and social anxiety associated with chronic online use. Opponents, however, fear that the law is poorly designed, will push children into the darker corners of the internet, violate their human rights, exacerbate some mental health problems, or simply be useless.
From indifference, to frustration, to amazement at the decisions made by adults, the eternal teenage question remains the same: "What's the big deal?"
Sarai Ades, 14
“Delay” frustrates me quite a bit because it targets young people, instead of addressing the root causes of harmful online phenomena, things like algorithmic hate speech, misinformation, and the lack of accountability of companies and creators who profit from harmful or discriminatory content.
Teens are not the main drivers of harmful content. Much of it comes from influential adult creators, political commentators, and extremist groups, and it seems deeply unfair for the government to punish an entire age group by removing access, rather than regulating the platforms.
I think media literacy is very important, especially for our generation. We need to learn how to properly deal with the online world so that it doesn’t become harmful, and that includes the prejudices that are often disguised as “opinions” on social media. Cutting off access without any investment in developing our media literacy is like the government banning books until we’re 16 and expecting us to suddenly read critically.
With the rise of artificial intelligence, there's a whole new world that we have to understand, and we're not being taught about it at all. I think the government could certainly focus its efforts on that area and on specific aspects of social media, rather than imposing a complete ban.
Less exposure to this kind of harmful content might be good for our mental health in some respects, but I think the negatives outweigh the positives.
My generation uses social media as a tool for identity formation: exploring other cultures, creative expression, neurodivergence, gender identity, political beliefs. Removing social media also removes a crucial space for self-discovery and a sense of belonging.
Even if teens aren't trying to build a presence online, a ban will drive them to less secure parts of the internet, suspicious apps, private browsers, or unsafe sites, instead of regulated platforms. Restricting access to social media won't eliminate the need for online connectivity, it will only push it underground.
Pia Monti, 13
I only have accounts on WhatsApp and Pinterest, so the social media ban won't directly affect me, but I still don't like it. I know people whose main support network is social media, so if that's taken away from them, they'll be left with nothing. I've had really positive experiences on the social media I use, so I don't see why they should be banned for everyone.
I don't keep my phone in my room overnight, I just check it quickly in the morning for notifications, but I don't use it much before school. I mostly use it to take a break from studying, and I've averaged 49 minutes a day in front of a screen this week.
Gray Guo, 14
I'm pretty indifferent to the ban, it won't affect me much because I mostly use messages and WhatsApp to correspond with friends. I sometimes post on YouTube, but I won't mind if I can't anymore. Sometimes the comments can be unpleasant, so I won't miss that. And anyway, you can access the content without an account.
I've only been using Instagram since the beginning of this year, it's just another way for me to communicate with friends and I don't think two years is a long time to wait to use it again.
I spend an average of about an hour or two a day in front of a screen; most of that is texting with friends on various apps. I think our generation is pretty addicted to it and I have friends who use their phones a lot more than I do.
Overall, for kids my age, I think things will remain mostly the same, if they want to, they will find a way around the ban, they will use apps without an account, or they will just wait. Maybe for younger kids, the ban will delay some harmful experiences. But also, it may be too much for someone to get into all of this at 16 if they haven't had any prior exposure.
Evan Buchanan Constable, 15
I'm a little disappointed about the ban, because I discovered many of my current creative interests through YouTube. I only use YouTube and Discord at the moment.
Adults see social media as something that completely takes over our lives, but in reality it's just something we use in our free time and doesn't stop us from hanging out with each other, making plans to go out, or anything like that. I also read, write, and draw a lot. I play Dungeons and Dragons and video games.
As I see it, the goals the government states, mental health and limiting harmful, inappropriate content, could be achieved through regulation and education, not prohibition.
It's important that this education starts early, because kids today need to know how to navigate the internet safely much earlier. I think it would be dangerous to forget about it and just let them discover it all when they're 16. They'll already be encountering a lot of weird stuff on the internet by then, so they need to be taught about it earlier.
Emma Williams, 15
I'm turning 16 in February, so for me, only the holidays will really be without Instagram. I opened an account a few years ago, and then I changed schools, so Instagram has been a good way for me to stay in touch with people I don't see every day anymore.
I think everyone will miss that social aspect, but on the other hand there is also a relief when you are not using a platform that is designed to suck you in and take up your time, no one will miss the endless scrolling. I get tired of watching “rills” quickly anyway, and AI garbage is the worst, it takes so long for that content to be blocked, and new ones are constantly appearing. I only want to see real content that interests me.
My friends and I have group chats on Instagram and WhatsApp, so we'll just spend more time there. Although, I have to say, Instagram content can often be a fun topic to talk about, so maybe we won't chat as much when we can't share it anymore.
In school we are taught about cyberbullying and harmful content, but never about how to use apps in a healthy way. I think the government would be much better off spending money on education than on restrictions. Right now what they are teaching us is very boring and they need to work on it.
Prepared by: NB
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