For many teens, scrolling through social media is a natural habit. In an effort to combat this, Australia has banned social media for all children under 16 years old. The ban was made effective on December 10, 2025, which made it illegal for platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and even YouTube to allow users below the age of 16 on their platforms.

Australia claims this to be the first ban of its nature, and it truly is. Australia hopes it will prompt other countries to follow suit. Denmark plans to ban social media for users under 15, and the U.K. has signaled its willingness to take the example after Australia.

This is not to say that this ban has been entirely successful. Not even a day later, Australian teens already found workarounds to this predicament. They did this through using VPNs, Fake ID’s (including AI generated ones), migrating to similar platforms, and even going as far as to buy existing accounts. In some cases, however, teenagers didn’t face any complications at all.

“None of my accounts on any platform have been shut down,” one 15-year-old told CNN, “not even the ones that I put my real age.” 

This ban was a mistake, as many teenagers are still going to find workarounds and ways to stay online. Already, many have gone to great lengths to maintain their social media accounts, and it’s only a matter of time before the ban is completely lifted. 

While the ban was well-intentioned and technically is justified, it’s not the right thing to do. A better alternative would be to implement a mandatory digital literacy program in middle and high schools, teaching students how to protect themselves online. 

According to CNN, the ban is “world-leading, but it’s also world-leading because a lot of the world recognizes that the tools to do this don’t really work yet.”

Australia is relying on these social media companies to implement facial recognition, IDs, and other tools, but what Australia doesn’t realize is that while this technology is present, it’s very easy to exploit, as it’s still new. Teenagers could easily use AI to generate images to pass as adults.

Social media companies are expected to implement these measures to make sure anyone under 16 is kept off social media, and any lack of compliance will lead to major fines. This isn’t to say their accounts are completely deleted; they’re suspended until they’re of-age.

While Australia’s ban on social media for children under 16 was created with safety in mind, its effectiveness remains questionable. As teenagers continue to bypass restrictions and technology struggles to keep up, the ban risks becoming more symbolic than practical. Instead of prohibition, educating young people on digital responsibility may offer a more tangible and lasting solution. Until then, Australia’s experiment serves as a reminder that protecting online teens requires more than just shutting the screen off.