After the ban: how young people are navigating social media now

It’s been three months since Australia’s social media ban for under‑16s came into effect. Age checks are now built into platforms, new prompts appear as young people log on, and a law designed to limit access – rather than change how platforms operate – has become part of everyday life. 

But what has it actually changed? 

To explore that, UNICEF Australia Ambassador Rae Johnston – an award-winning STEM journalist and presenter at NITV – sat down with two 14‑year‑olds, Zariah and Georgia, to talk about how the ban played out in their lives; from the moment it began on 10 December 2025, to the technology now sitting between them and their online spaces.  

Their experiences point to a familiar dynamic: when rules focus on restricting access instead of addressing the systems behind the platforms, young people adapt quickly – often in ways policymakers don’t anticipate.  

Restricted, but rarely blocked 

Since the ban began, social media platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat and many others, have introduced a range of age‑verification tools, including facial scans and online behavioural analysis. In practice, Zariah and Georgia say these checks have been easy to move past. 

“I got a notification about the new law, clicked okay, and that was it,” Zariah says. 

Neither teen knows anyone who has been fully locked out of social media because of the ban. Their experiences reflects how digitally fluent many young people are. They’re able to understand new systems quickly, find workarounds, and adapt with minimal disruption. While access may be technically restricted, enforcement has often felt light and inconsistent. 

Expectations shifted more than behaviour 

In the lead‑up to the ban, both teens expected bigger changes. They worried about losing contact with friends, particularly those living overseas, and about being shut out of spaces where much of their social life already existed. 

“I was worried about how I’d keep up with people,” Zariah says. “Social media is how I know what my friends are doing.” 

Once the law took effect, that sense of disruption largely failed to materialise. Over time, initial concern gave way to adjustment, and daily habits continued much as before. What shifted was less about how they behaved online, and more about how secure their access felt – an awareness that these spaces could be limited or removed, without young people having much say. 

Harmful content hasn’t disappeared

While the ban focuses on who can access platforms, Zariah and Georgia say it hasn’t changed what appears on their feeds. They describe continued exposure to harmful content – graphic or violent imagery and misinformation – material that spreads quickly and is often widely seen before moderation catches up. 

From their perspective, the restriction operates at the point of access, rather than addressing what people are exposed to once they’re on the platforms themselves. The algorithms that shape content, visibility and reach remain largely unchanged. It highlights that limiting access doesn’t automatically make online spaces safer.  

“It’s still where our lives are” 

Despite the ban, social media remains central to how young people stay connected. Georgia describes platforms as places where friendships are maintained and communities exist. Zariah points out that for young people who move often, or whose friends are spread across cities or countries, social media fills real social gaps. 

For Zariah and Georgia, the law hasn’t reduced the role social media plays in their lives; it has simply made access feel more conditional. Living under the restriction has also sharpened their awareness of how easily age-verification system can be navigated, how different platforms interpret the same law, and how little young people were involved in shaping decisions that directly affect their digital lives. 

Georgia agrees. “If young people had been involved, maybe it could have worked better.” 

The social media ban is now part of Australia’s digital landscape. But as Zariah and Georgia’s experiences show, young people adapt quickly, especially when online spaces remain essential to their social world. 

At UNICEF Australia, we continue to listen to young people as new policies shaping their online lives are rolled out. While it’s positive that there’s growing focus on improving the online world, we don’t believe limiting access alone will fix the challenges children and teens face. Social media can offer real benefits, from learning to staying connected, so the focus must be on making platforms safer and improving the systems around them. That’s why we’re amplifying young people’s voices in our conversations with government, because understanding how they experience these changes isn’t optional, it’s essential to making online spaces genuinely safer.