The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, has confirmed a social media ban for under-16s in the UK. It is now six months since Australia introduced its ban.While supporters say it is helping to protect young people online, critics argue many teenagers are still using social media and that the restrictions are difficult to enforce.We asked parents and carers in Australia about how the ban has affected their families.Here are some of their responses.‘I think it is worthwhile’Freya, 44, from Melbourne, says the ban had given her “an extra tool in the battle against devices” with her children, aged 12 and 14.“The ban has highlighted to my kids that there are genuine reasons why young people should be wary of social media,” she says. “It’s not just that their mum is old and doesn’t get it. It’s reduced arguments.”Freya says the impact of the ban depends on the child’s age. “With my 12-year-old, it’s more iPad-based, so it’s not a constant scroll. Phones are a bit more insidious.”Freya says that TikTok and Snapchat are the most popular among her children and their friends, but their social media use – and peer pressure to use it – has reduced since the ban: “I don’t get the argument of ‘so-and-so has TikTok’ as much.”Freya acknowledges she cannot always control what her children see online. “I have a sneaking suspicion that my daughter is still on Snapchat,” she says. “There’s one girl that my daughter knows who’s on TikTok. I think they gather around her on the bus to look at her phone.”The ban is “still worth having”, she says. “No legislation can eliminate any behaviour – look at vaping or underage drinking. But it does make things more difficult. Does it work 100%? No. Is it worthwhile? Yes, I think it is.”The social media ban slogan ‘Let Them Be Kids’ is projected on to Sydney Harbour Bridge in December. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AP‘The ban has failed’Boris*, who is the father of two children aged 11 and 13, feels the social media ban has failed, and the legislation is toothless.He says the more tech-savvy kids can get around the ban, adding that many of his son’s friends are still on social media. He cites his 13-year-old son, who says he feels left out as the teenager is “the only one not on” Snapchat, adding that “all his friends are using it”.“I think it’s ridiculous that you can bring in this legislation that you can so easily get around,” he says. “Apparently, the whole thing is seen as a joke by teenagers and has stopped nothing. Why bother introducing legislation if you’re not going to be strict about enforcing it?”Boris, who is in his forties, lives in Brisbane and works in the design industry, thought his family were “lucky” that the legislation came into force just as his children were at the age when social media became appealing. And while he says the ban has been useful to refer to when framing discussions on the subject with them, he is “mostly disappointed” with how it has panned out.“I feel strongly about protecting our children and young teenagers from phone and online addiction, and we as parents are very protective about how we control our children’s access to digital technologies,” he says. “But I can only see this ban now as a failure of implementation of what should have been a paradigm shift in how we protect our younger generations from digital addiction.”‘I think that, given time, it will have a positive effect’Simon* has two children aged 12 and 16. He says he is in favour of the ban and reflects on how one of his children has had social media since starting high school, while the other has not.