What the social media bans look like from my consulting room

Since the Australian social media bans were introduced, I have been asking every 12 to 15 year old I see the same question: have you been blocked from social media, and how are you coping without it?

First, I want to be clear that I strongly support protecting young people from the risks that exist online. I genuinely hoped this policy might make a meaningful difference. But I have been surprised by what I am actually hearing.

The vast majority of this age group are still actively using the apps they were meant to be shielded from. Of the roughly one hundred young people I have asked over the last few months, nearly every single one remains connected to a combination of the banned platforms, whether that is Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat or YouTube.

Parents seem just as confused. Many appear baffled about how the bans are meant to work. I often sense a level of resignation, with some saying they have simply given up trying to enforce it. A common theme is a lack of education about both the bans themselves and how families are meant to manage the transition away from social media. The question I hear most often is simply, what are we actually meant to do?

Teenagers often respond with a bit of a chuckle. Nothing changed for me, I still have all my apps. My Instagram got deleted but I just set it up again with a different date of birth. The facial recognition said I was 21 so it was easy to get back on. I just use my parent's Face ID to get in. Many told me they never believed the bans would work, and that they felt the policy was rushed and that not enough of them were involved in the consultation.

It also seems we are lacking education through schools and teachers, and for health professionals like us who are so often supporting families through these issues. When this all rolled out, the main guidance we received was a link to the eSafety Commissioner website. Much of what I now understand about how young people navigate social media has come directly from the teenagers themselves and their families.

This was Australia's chance to set a new standard globally. So what happens next? Do we assume the policy worked and move on, or do we look honestly at the outcomes so far and start thinking about what real cyber safety, sensible protections, and meaningful education for families might actually look like? I would love to see that conversation continue, because from where I sit we still have a long way to go.