A Month Post-Social Media Ban: Teen Perspectives in Australia

Sat Jan 10 2026 10:52:48 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

As Australia implements a social media ban for children under 16, teenagers share their experiences one month in, highlighting a mix of freedom, adaptability, and ongoing challenges.

One month after the social media ban for youths in Australia commenced, responses from teenagers reveal a spectrum of experiences. While some report feeling liberated and more present, others continue their social media habits through alternative platforms. The effects show varying impacts on daily routines, emotional well-being, and social interactions among young Australians.

For the first time in years, Amy feels free.

One month since Australia's teen social media ban kicked in, she says she is disconnected from my phone and her daily routine has changed.

The 14-year-old first felt the pangs of online addiction in the days after the ban started.

I knew that I was still unable to access Snapchat - however, from instinct, I still reached to open the app in the morning, she wrote on day two of the ban in a diary she kept for the first week afterwards.

By day four of the ban – with ten platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok going dark for thousands of Australian children aged 16 and under – she had started to question the magnetic pull of Snapchat.

While it's sad that I can't snap my friends, I can still text them on other platforms and I honestly feel kind of free knowing that I don't have to worry about doing my streaks anymore, Amy wrote.

Streaks – a Snapchat feature considered addictive – require two users to send a photo or video to each other every day to maintain their streak.

Fast forward to one month later, and her habits are markedly different. I now reach for my phone less and mainly use it when I genuinely need to do something. However, not every teenager feels the same.

Aahil, 13, hasn't read more books or played more sports since the ban. Instead, he maintains about two and a half hours spent on various platforms daily, mostly on gaming sites like Roblox and Discord, which are not banned. It hasn't really changed anything, he says.

Meanwhile, Lulu, 15, expresses that while her social media usage remains steady due to simple workarounds like creating accounts with fake ages, she has read a bit more because she doesn't want to engage with banned platforms as much.

A shift in dynamics is apparent for parents too. Amy's mother notes her daughter's increased contentment in spending time alone, though the reasons remain ambiguous – whether due to the social media ban or merely a quieter holiday season.

With the government's intention behind the ban being to protect young Australians from online harm, the long-term effects on their social behaviors and emotional well-being remain to be seen.

As this unique situation continues, many observers are awaiting insights from the eSafety Commissioner to assess the full impact of the ban and how it might influence global approaches to youth social media use.