09/12/2025
Well… today marks the beginning of the social media ban for kids under 16 in Australia. How are we feeling about it?
I grew up in an era where Facebook and MSN were the height of connection. We had one laptop, one internet stick, and you basically had to book your turn. I was 16 when I got my first iPhone, and even then Instagram was mostly food pics, selfies, and badly filtered sunsets. Life online felt… simpler.
That’s obviously not the world today’s teenagers live in.
I can’t speak for a 15-year-old who suddenly loses access to their digital social life. I can’t speak for the parents who are navigating the weight of online pressures, bullying, comparison, and everything in between.
But I can speak from the perspective of someone who lives and breathes social media every day.
I’m genuinely curious to see what impact this has on teenagers’ mental health. I’m curious whether the government will take further steps around bullying and online safety. Because while this ban might be a step in the right direction, it’s still an experiment, one that might prevent harm but could also create new risks.
Let’s be real: the legal drinking age is 18, and plenty of us underage drank. Rules don’t automatically equal behaviour change.
This isn’t a “dust off our hands, problem solved” moment. It’s a chance to rethink how we support young people in a digital world. And yes, maybe this ban is one part of the solution… but it’s definitely not the whole thing.
