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“I'm still on Snapchat, but I was banned from Instagram and TikTok.”
“Through the social media ban, I have only been banned off of Snapchat”
It’s been just over a month since Australia’s world-first social media ban was enacted… and the new restrictions have coincided with the school holidays.
“They can spend the summer making real-world connections with each other, with their siblings, with their parents - skateboarding, writing, reading, art music. I don’t care what it is, but it’s off the screen.”
Minister for Communications Anika Wells speaking there - encouraging young people to find new activities beyond social media.
The government says there are some 2.5 million young people aged between 8 and 15 in Australia.
Many young users are on multiple social media platforms, but the government says some 4.7 million accounts have been deactivated, removed or restricted so far.
So with less or no access to social media, how are teens spending their spare time? SBS visited a Scouts Hall in Sydney's north to find out.
“I mean, I do like art. I do a lot of painting and so it's kind of given me more time to focus on that.”
“So today, for example, I'm going over to the beach to see some friends this afternoon, so definitely doing some more stuff off of my phone with some of my friends in the real world.”
“I went to New Zealand for a camp just recently and everyone was out and socialising and not on their phones and it seemed a bit more fun and enjoyable.”
Even 16 year olds like Maddy - who are excluded from the ban - are noticing a change:
“I feel like everyone is a lot more chatty now and there's less checking phones and hangouts. And we've honestly been going out a lot more to the beach and to the shops and everything.” butted with (01:16): “It feels less draining to just be talking to them in person than online or on Instagram.”
A 2020 survey by the eSafety Commission shows teenagers were spending on average around 14.4 hours a week online - with Snapchat, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook the most popular platforms.
The government says the ban was introduced in order to minimise young people's exposure to harmful content and improve their mental health and wellbeing.
A month into the ban, have the adults in their life noticed a difference in behaviour, habits or mental health?
Sally is mother to 14 year old Travis:
“The change has been great. He's just come back from a massive scout camp in New Zealand where previously on a scout camp before, I did get messages quite a lot for him where now it was like, "Are you still alive? I need proof of life." Just because the kids weren't on their phones, which was really cool. Really good to see.”
Some research suggests social media is harmful to the mental health of young people.
A July 2025 report from the eSafety Commission, titled 'Digital Use and Risk: Online platform engagement among children aged 10 to 15' found more than half of children in this age bracket in Australia had experienced cyberbullying.
It also found nearly 1 in 4 children had experienced non-consensual tracking, monitoring or harassment on social media - and around the same amount had experienced online sexual harassment.
Kids Helpline's Head of Virtual Services, Tony Fitzgerald explains.
“Whether it's bullying or whether it's access to or exposure to harmful content, the always on nature and the pressure of young people to always be on social media has then led to negative consequences for them in terms of their mental health, because they're always exposed to that content. They're always exposed to that negative behaviour, and those insults, taunts and bullying behaviour that occurs.”
Some young people agree.
“I think the standards on social media are really high and because I'm only 16, seeing the standards of fully grown adults is really like altering my view of things, so that's been a lot better.”
But recent research suggests the relationship between social media and young people's mental health is more nuanced.
Research by the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics analysed three years of data from more than 100,000 Australian children spanning years four to 12.
It found adolescents reporting moderate use of social media generally had the best wellbeing, compared to non-users and those on social media at the highest levels.
Teenagers like 14-year-old Alana are concerned about losing communities and friendships maintained online.
“Losing these connections that I've made from friends overseas and making them at Scout camps and losing them, it's hard because I can't communicate with them anymore. And I may not be able to see them at any other Scout camps I go to.”
Kids Helpline's Tony Fitzgerald says this is particularly true for young people from vulnerable groups.
“Young people have grown up, particularly in more recent years, have grown up as having social media as part of their lives. So it becomes a natural way of them maintaining connection with each other. Young people, particularly from vulnerable cohorts who find it difficult to connect with others in more traditional senses can find this as a really powerful way of connecting with others who've gone through similar experiences.”
This raises questions about how successfully the ban has been executed and whether it’s achieving its desired outcome.
Nicholas Carah is Director of the Center for Digital Cultures and Societies at the University of Queensland.
“A really important part of our duty of care is actually a positive one, which is to say, "What are we going to do to enable young people to connect, socialise, be creative with each other in the digital world?" Because that is the world and that is their world now.” ]]
But at least for now - less time online, is opening doors for new hobbies and experiences:
“I have picked up drawing a lot more than I used to. When I was younger, I used to draw a lot as I didn't have access to social media, but now that it's gone again, I've started drawing again.”
SEE MORE ABOUT THIS STORY
Here's how some teens spent their first school holidays after the social media ban
