‘A bit messy’: jury still out on child social media ban

Allanah Sciberras, Duncan Murray and Morgan Reinwald | June 10, 2026

There is little sign of a dip in cyberbullying or image-based abuse in the six months since teenagers under 16 have been banned from social media. 

But, even without a clear fall in reports of online harm, the early results are not necessarily discouraging, experts say, as the nation remains at the front of efforts to restrict under-16 access to social media.

The world-first ban, which stipulates users must be 16 or older to create or hold social media accounts, made international headlines in December.

Call patterns remained largely unchanged since the ban was introduced, a helplines operator said.

Non-profit yourtown operates Kids Helpline and virtual services manager Tony FitzGerald told AAP it was too early to gauge any real difference.

“From speaking to young people, particularly in that 13-16 age group the experience for them has been very inconsistent,” he said.

“Some of them have had social media cut-off, whereas (some) have not had any impact in terms of their access to those platforms.

“It’s been a bit messy for that group.”

Despite this, young people are moving to other platforms such as WhatsApp to interact, which aren’t subject to the social media ban.

“We’ve seen young people come to us who would say they’re being cyberbullied on messaging apps,” Mr FitzGerald said.

“There’s a whole range of other platforms that are out there that are not subject to the social media minimum age restrictions that young people still are interacting on and they’re still experiencing harm.”

There had been no discernible drop in reports of online harm such as cyberbullying and image-based abuse from under-16s, according to the latest report from eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant in March. 

Nevertheless, mother of teenage children Bianca Quetti supports the ban.

“My kids were 16 already when it came in … I’m not sure what other parents are thinking, but I would presume most would like it,” she said.

“I mean, there’s probably a way around it, I’m sure they’ve all got a way around it.

“I think it’s not a bad thing.”

Her 16-year-old daughter Taylah narrowly avoided the ban and said there was a lot on the internet she didn’t think young people should be seeing.

But she said not much had changed with the social media accounts of people at her school who should have been impacted by the ban.

“I don’t know if it’s really working that much … most of their accounts didn’t even get banned, so they’re still allowed on there,” she told AAP.

Ellie Johnston, who has a teenage grandson, was sceptical of the ban.

“We just want our kids to be safe, right? And when they go online, they’re not safe because of predators. 

“They’re throwing money into something that’s not going to work”.

She said parents had a key role to play.

“Parents are always on their phone … if you want to be a role model, put your phone away properly. Because it’s monkey see, monkey do.”

Advocates are calling for more education for young people on how to navigate the online environment so that, by age 16, they are better prepared and less exposed to harm.

Mr FitzGerald believes there must be a multi-pronged approach that includes tech companies taking responsibility and stronger regulation of their activity in this space.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said one of the key reasons for the social media ban was due to the harm it placed on the health of young people.

“Today is six months since the social media ban came into effect … and it was having a deleterious impact on their mental health and on a range of issues,” he told ABC Radio Melbourne on Wednesday. 

Lifeline 13 11 14

Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (for people aged 5 to 25)