Most of the planned social media ban in Australia has raised concerns of social isolation of teenagers and effective immediately, vulnerable cohorts. For Tereza Hussein; an 14-year old refugee in Darwin, this ban would cut her only link to her grandmother they’ve never met face to face. In this respect, Hussein says, “It is the only way I have ever communicated to my grandma before over socials.”
Hussein, who grew up in a refugee camp in Malawi and moved to Australia, knows all about displacement. ”It is going to bring a very big change in my life because they are going to find it difficult to communicate with those we have left behind,” she said. This feeling is not far from the experiences of most teens who depend on social media to have interactions with relatives and friends.
While Hussein can go weeks or months without logging in, she uses applications such as Instagram and Snapchat to participate in the lives of others with pictures and videos. Her case shows a major loophole in the government’s strategy to regulate the use of social media through age restrictions due to the issues of bullying and mental…. But experts also fear that such measures will only further marginalise those who require help most.
Disconnected Futures The Isolation Dilemma of Australia’s Social Media Ban
This could adversely affect operationalization of readily available social capital by the targeted teenagers from migrant, LGBTQIA plus and other minority groups. To them, the social media is the only hope, since they can find a company and belonging to a group in today’s society. Suspension of use of these interfaces elicits worry about their welfare.
Pre- and post-usage questionnaires reveal that Australian adolescents comprehend an average of four social media platforms while 97% depend on it for communication. This meas that they are in the league of one of the most connected youth in the world but the proposed ban would greatly affect this very connectivity.
Additionally, a ReachOut which is a youth service organization survey conducted in 2024 revealed that sixty five percent of parents were worried about how their children used social networks. Although parents are right that their children can become targets for violent extremes, the consequences of a social networking ban should be considered. In the context of YOUTH IN AUSTRALIA,risk and attachment are defining factors and they are tear that has to be managed if the wellbeing of youths has to be improved.
In other words, the ruling government has to assess the consequences of a social media ban in relation to the possibility of intensifying the Youth’s sense of loneliness and isolation. As Tereza Hussein’s story shows these policies are not just about bullying or mental health issues, these are to bring a change in the nature of teen relationships.
Cutting the Cord Australia’s Controversial Bid to Tackle Teen Social Media Addiction
The government of Australia is planning a massive shift in course to reign in on social media by implementing a new ban that seeks to regulate the youth. While the details of the law may still be in doubt, the first stage is to pilot age check mechanisms. But youth advocates are now sounding the danger bells, saying that such an endeavor could possibly disconnect youth particularly those with some form of vulnerability from their support systems.
Amelia Johns, currently an associate professor at the University of Technology Sydney, teaching digital media shares her opinion regarding the ban. Referring to the situation with migrant teens during lockdowns, she stressed, “The ban is pretty much the opposite of what we’d recommend.” To numerous young persons social media is their only navigation system and choice decentering is unthinkable.
Johns’ concern how the ban is going to affect those personally is also an issue of mental health. ‘Everyone is living in social media’, as she observes while explaining that social media is a base of interaction and support to youths. The measure indicates distancing or even complete separation and such a move when taken could aggravate the plight of those who are struggling.
Finally, there is no country in the world that has been able to effectively put age-based ban on internet platforms. Even though France and Britain have conducted research on the techniques for age verification, neither country has implemented any restrictions. A similar situation occurs in several US states for restricted content, but such measures are far from being so broad compared to the Australian bill.
Aussie officials are moving to adopt the legislation before the end of the year, with talks suggesting that there could be an upper limit of ages 14 to 16. There is currently a level of uncertainty and many teenagers have asked how these rules affect their interpersonal relationships. It is important to note that as is the case with most new legislations which come with a seismic shift in the society, this legislation will hold a number of consequences.
Interviewee Ben Kioko is a 14 year old from Sydney who is on the autism spectrum and of queer/trans experience. As and said to me when explaining how these apps are important in one’s life, “If I lost social media, it would make me feel a lot more isolated.” When the government is formulating how to approach this subject, there are such factors as addiction on one hand and tangible interference with the youthful lives on the other hand.
Beyond the Ban Addressing Youth Mental Health in the Digital Age
Issues of mental health are the primary and probably the most significant aspects being considered as the Australian social media ban. Speaking about their personal experience one student shared, “I am a person who had anxiety and depression, and getting vaccinated would only make those conditions way worse than they are now and would impact my whole life.” Such feeling sums up the anxieties of many young Australians that, in crisis, turn to social media for companionship and help.
.csv Anthony Albanese or Prime Minister has been one of the leading proponents of the ban stating concerns that parents want to reduce time spent on screens. For the record, parents want their children, off their phones and on the footy field, so do I he said in September. However, this approach raises a question as to whether the services’ blocking adequately solves the problem that causes users to overindulge in practicing with social networks.
Justine Humphry, a media researcher at the University of Sydney, claim that the ban is linked to “nostalgia” for a childhood without screens “which is fiction.” While she acknowledges that social networks’ producers must improve safety features for teenagers, she noted that a complete prohibition misses the idea of contemporary childhood.
Meta which owns Instagram and Whatsapp has not yet shared its opinion of the new ban but it has been supportive of measures to safeguard youngsters. Instagram is another app where the company has recently strengthened under 18 year old people’s apps anonymity and while people under 16 who wish to make their setting less strict have to prove their identity to their parents. Here is the response which shows the company recognizes the need to protect the youth despite operating on social platforms.
Scholars have pointed out that attempting to limit access based on age could be problematic because VPNs can easily hide the location of a user. A lost report by former judge Robert French asserted that any attempts at the ban would only be defeated by aware youth capable of finding the resolutions around the restrictions.
In France, a trial designed to prevent teenager’s access to social media identified that 48% of them could bypass the requirements with VPNs. That is why VPN usage increases every time restrictions appeared like it happened while YouTube started to ask for identification for age-restricted videos. Using the words of Sydney high school student Enie Lam, 16 ‘I understand that using social media a lot is not good for you and I am trying not to use social media a lot’. But a ban is not going to work.” She speaks the way many teens think and can hardly believe that such actions might help curbing the use of drugs.
