Making sense of the social media ban

Safety at the playground took on another meaning for Salvos Online journalist Anthony Castle while watching his son interact with friends. Photo: Johnny Cohen on Unsplash

BY ANTHONY CASTLE

I watch my child reach out and connect. First, he gets onto the platform and begins to explore. He feels the supports around him, finding his friends. He goes deeper into the network of platforms and people, the activity and noise growing. Before I know it, he makes a leap. For a moment, I can no longer see him. I am scared. Is he safe?

I am at the playground, during school pick-up, watching my son. It is a routine space of play, but also of risk. I worry for him, I watch him, and I see another child among the activity and the noise. They stand on the ground beneath, looking into their hand, holding a phone. They are watching TikTok.

My son lands on his feet and stands up, though I don’t see it. I was distracted by the child on TikTok, which seemed to scare me more, and I have thought about it in light of the Government’s social media age limit. TikTok has been found to harm attention spans in students, and social media has been linked to anxiety, addiction, and bullying in younger users. Some have even connected social media to suicide.

I am a parent, but I have also been a youth worker. I worked with The Salvation Army to support the safety and rights of young people for over a decade. My son sees children with social media apps on smartphones and asks when he can have it too. I explain the risks of growing up with social media, that it’s not safe, and he asks a question I don’t know how to answer: When will it be safe?

As of 10 December 2025, children under 16 have been banned from social media in Australia. The ‘world first’ legislation prevents young people from signing up to social media accounts, including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X, YouTube and Reddit.

Social psychologists have argued for similar restrictions, observing that teen mental health remained relatively stable for decades but declined sharply around 2012-13, just as young people began to use smartphones and social media. Sixteen is an age at which individuals are suggested to be more capable of engaging with online platforms.

In that respect, the legislation appears appropriate, welcomed by Australian parents who have lost children to cyberbullying and suicide. The policy has support among polled communities, but not everyone agrees, with some experts arguing that an age limit may infringe on a child’s rights and digital literacy.

Others have argued that banning phones and Facebook may be a distraction from bigger problems. A world-leading study found that the decline in youth mental health doesn’t just correlate to social media, but also to growing generational inequality, financial stress, and global instability. The data doesn’t find that social media is a big factor in mental health, but rather that it could be a soft target for regulation.

Social media is also an important support for marginalised young people, particularly for LGBTQIA+ teens and those experiencing family domestic violence. Advocates have argued that for many young people who are disabled, isolated, at-risk, and marginalised, social media isn’t life-threatening; it can be a lifeline.

When will smartphones and social media be safe? The answer is that they aren’t. The world never is. Young people are growing up amid crises in equality, in housing, in politics, and in the climate. They are growing into a world not just of risk, but of ruin. Taking away social media doesn’t change that.

I think back to that day on the playground, my son making the leap. I’m distracted by the sight of the smartphone, but injury is actually the leading cause of death in children. Playgrounds are one of the primary causes of child hospitalisation. We are right to watch and worry about our children, but risk isn’t just unavoidable; it’s necessary.

There are reasons to think the ban may not even be enforceable, too. Face-scanning technology has proven inaccurate in assessing user ages. Tech-savvy teens can use overlay networks to get around the age limit, and a poll found one-third of parents are willing to help circumvent the laws anyway.

We can’t be complacent about addiction or bullying, but we can’t protect young people from all risks. We must support young people in facing risk, right there, when they need it.

I’m not sure there are easy answers. The legislation will be helpful for some, even as it disadvantages others. The Salvation Army has developed a set of resources to help young people and adults understand this transition and navigate it with compassion.

I consider it all again at another school pick-up. My son asks if he can go to the playground, but one day he won’t. One day, he will be old enough to connect online. He will get onto a social media platform, explore, feel for supports, and find friends. It will be active and noisy – scary – but all forms of play involve risk.

I will watch and worry, but he’ll inevitably make the leap, and I won’t always be able to see him. In that moment, I will trust he lands on his feet. Young people need to grow up with risk so they can stand up to the ruin adults have made for them.

‘Can !?’ he asks again, while I’ve been distracted.

“Go. I’m right here.”

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More helpful links:  

• For those supporting young people in this transition, Salvo resources are available here.

• Young people seeking mental health support can go to Headspace.

• Adults and young people seeking more information about the restrictions can refer to the eSafety site here.