From December 10th forward, Australia’s government will impose the first-ever social media ban on teenagers under the age of 16. This law was passed about a year ago and was imposed by Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese. This ban followed the idea of parents wanting to shield their children from the harmful effects of social media on the teenage brain. Not only that, but screentime was also a factor considered. Parents were having trouble controlling their children’s screentime, with some parents even considering it an “uphill battle”.
Australian teenagers feel mixed about the ban. On one hand, you have teens who see the positivity that can come out of not having it. However, the majority see the problems that come with it. Teenagers use social media as a way of connecting with not only their friends, but the world as a whole. Apps such as CapCut, TikTok, and Instagram are used by teens as a creative outlet. On top of that, apps such as WhatsApp are used to communicate.
Though a positive outcome could come out of the ban, some experts fear that the withdrawal might affect teens more than the ban itself. Some teenagers only ever use social media to connect with each other, and this ban is coming at the time of their longest holiday of the year, which takes place in December. This holiday is 6 weeks long, and students who would connect with friends at school or on social media no longer have that option, leaving them isolated and alone.
Australian government officials do not say that this is an overnight fix for the effects of social media. They believe that this will help support parents who feel they cannot win with their children on the conversation about screentime restrictions. Furthermore, some teens have access to VPNs, a tool that allows them to connect to a server in another country, which would allow them to use social media.
This ban serves almost as an experiment of the effects of taking away something that is so prominent in society. Social media seems to have consumed time, energy, and even relationships. But it also raises the question of the possible implications of a ban like this one in other countries around the world. As concerns of cyberbullying, cybersecurity, and addiction come up more and more as more platforms come up, would this be a potential solution for the issues that alter the brains of our youth?