Banning kids from social media is only half a solution
The kids also need somewhere to go and something to do.
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After Australia’s social media ban on under-16s took effect in December 2025, more than 81 per cent of this group still used at least one restricted platform.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Catherine Thorbecke
Australia’s world-leading efforts to keep youth off social media are a closely watched experiment that more than two dozen countries are now trying to imitate. But the early data suggests it is not going very well.
More than 81 per cent of under-16s still used at least one restricted platform after the ban took effect in December 2025. Usage of TikTok among children aged 10 to 12 was higher than before, one parental-control company found, and roughly unchanged for teens aged 13 to 15. Qustodio, the firm behind the data, acknowledged the figures only encompass families already using its software to restrict apps, meaning the broader picture could be worse.
