Australia Banned Social Media for Kids Under 16. What That Means for Screen Time Worldwide

Starting December 10, 2025, millions of Australian teenagers will be blocked from accessing TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, and other major social media platforms. The Australian government's social media ban for users under 16 represents the most aggressive government action against teen screen time anywhere in the world, with fines up to $32 million for platforms that fail to keep underage users off.

The ban emerged from growing consensus among researchers, parents, and policymakers that social media poses genuine risks to developing minds. Communications Minister Anika Wells made the government's position clear in Parliament: "We will not be intimidated by threats. We will not be intimidated by legal challenges. We will not be intimidated by big tech. On behalf of Australian parents, we stand firm."

Why Now?

The legislation was partly inspired by Jonathan Haidt's research in "The Anxious Generation," which connects rising mental health issues in young people to the proliferation of smartphones and social media. While academic debates continue about causation versus correlation, the Australian government decided the evidence was strong enough to act.

This mirrors historical safety evolutions that now seem obvious. Julie Dawson, a digital identity expert at Yoti, draws a parallel to seatbelts: "I can remember going on those long car journeys where, literally, we didn't have any seat belts. You probably wouldn't do that with your 5-year-old now on a 10-hour journey."

The question has shifted from "should we protect children online?" to "how effectively can we protect them?" Age verification technology, including facial age estimation that analyzes features like skin texture and bone structure, will be the primary enforcement mechanism. Platforms bear sole responsibility for blocking underage users, with no penalties for children or their parents who circumvent the rules.

The Global Ripple Effect

Australia isn't alone. Malaysia announced similar restrictions this week. Denmark, Norway, and countries across the European Union are developing their own legislation, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen citing Australia's move as inspiration. In the United States, hundreds of school districts and attorneys general have filed complaints against Meta, YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat alleging they deliberately embedded addictive features to drive advertising revenue at the expense of children's mental health.

Meanwhile, over 20 U.S. states enacted laws relating to children and social media in 2025, though none as comprehensive as Australia's outright ban.

The Real Challenge: What Comes Next

Here's where cautious optimism meets practical reality. Removing access to social media addresses one problem but creates another: what will kids do with the time they've gotten back?

Some evidence suggests the transition could be positive. Fourteen-year-old Maxine Steel, who deleted her social media apps before the ban, describes her experience at a phone-free school camp: "Everyone's forgotten about social media, and I have to say, it is the most vivid and animated environment I think I've ever been in my whole life."

But simply removing the apps isn't enough. Kids need guidance to fill that void with meaningful activities. Without intentional replacement strategies, they might migrate to gaming platforms like Roblox and Discord (which aren't included in the ban), or find other ways to fill the dopamine gap.

For families navigating this shift, the opportunity lies in helping young people discover offline pursuits that provide genuine fulfillment: sports, creative hobbies, face-to-face friendships, and moments of boredom that spark imagination. The ban creates space, but families must decide what fills it.

Looking Ahead

Australia's experiment will be closely watched. If teen mental health improves measurably over the coming years, expect similar bans to spread globally. If kids simply migrate to unregulated corners of the internet, the legislation may need revision.

For anyone struggling with their own phone habits, this moment highlights an important truth: even governments now recognize that social media is designed to be addictive. Whether you're 15 or 50, building intentional friction into your phone use, like ScreenBuddy's 25-second pause before opening distracting apps, can help you reclaim the presence and focus that infinite scrolling steals.

Source: CNN