The ban on under-16s accessing ‘harmful’ content that began this week has overwhelming approval from adults – even if it had a few teething issues
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few weeks ago, my 14-year-old went into the garage, pulled out his skateboard and told me this was going to be his “skate park summer”. I was curious about what was sparking his renewed interest in an activity he hadn’t thought about since he was 12. His response: “The ban.”
I was thrilled. As far as I was concerned, Australia’s world-first social media law aimed at preventing children under 16 from accessing social media apps was already a success. But this week, as the ban took effect, my son wasn’t so sure. Access to his accounts remained largely unchanged. Many of his friends were in the same position. Across the country, the rollout has been uneven, as social media companies try to work out how to verify kids’ ages.
When the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, spoke about the ban this week, he warned there would be teething issues. However, Albanese’s main message was to kids. He encouraged them to spend the school holidays outside or reading, instead of scrolling on their phones. The comments were popular with parents but the PM’s TikTok account was spammed by younger people letting him know they were still online. Teenage content creators on social media platforms wasted no time making parody videos about older people’s earnest hopes that the ban would make kids go outside and touch grass.
