'The social media ban is the easy option. That's why it will fail'

Wednesday, 10 December 2025 00:13

Banning social media is punishing the people. The people aren't the problem. The apps are.

Opinion: I keep seeing people acting shocked that social media is out of control, and yet the ban feels like the government has finally noticed a problem we've been living with for years and picked the laziest fix.

Being 15 and online isn't easy. I think anyone could tell you that. You're constantly faced with pressure to keep up with trends, look or act a certain way, and stay plugged in. Always.

It's chaotic, exhausting, and most people I know will admit that they're probably better off without it.

Social media hasn't just crept into the modern teenager's lives, it's steamrolled straight through.

But this doesn't mean the blanket ban is the hero solution it's been sold as.

In my opinion, banning social media is punishing the people. The people aren't the problem. The apps are.

'What Australia needs is an overhaul, a genuine effort to collaborate with social media companies on making them a safer and useful place for everyone'

Banning every under 16 doesn't fix the parts of social media that are actually broken. It doesn't change the algorithms that shove extreme content in your face. It doesn't make platforms take responsibility for the way they design apps to keep us addicted.

When someone finds a way around the ban, because trust me - they will, the cycle just repeats.

Nothing improves. The problem doesn't disappear, it just goes into hiding.

Cutting teenagers off such a big part of society for the first 16 years of life doesn't "fix" social media. It just means that when we do turn 16, the shift is an unnecessary confrontation with reality that could so easily be softened.

EXPLAINER: What happens to my social media account if I'm under 16?

Policies like these act as if every teenager is the same. That's not true - as if a 12-year-old on TikTok at 2am is identical to a 15-year-old using Instagram to keep up with school, friends, and sport. A harsh rule doesn't recognise differences.

Differences in people, in apps.

I don't want to be treated like one big problem to be managed.

If governments actually wanted to help, they'd go after the companies. Force them to fix features that make social media so damaging - streaks, instant gratification, constant notifications. Instead we're stuck with a ban, which is the most basic solution to this complex problem.

I could've thought of it.

I'm not against it. Not fully. I can see where they were coming from. I see the addiction in society, I see it in myself.

But there were so many ways to help. To help kids see themselves in lights that aren't overshadowed by their phones. What Australia needed right now wasn't an age restriction, a blanket ban, a loss of trust with the government.

EXPLAINER: Will under 16s get in trouble for accessing social media?

What Australia needs is an overhaul, a genuine effort to collaborate with social media companies on making them a safer and useful place for everyone.

They took the easy option, and it will fail.

Until they choose the harder option, this policy isn't protecting teenagers. It's just avoiding the truth.

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