Australia Banned Social Media for Kids By Law. History Says Kids Will Find a Way.
Australia Banned Social Media for Kids
Australia is the first country to enforce a nationwide social media ban for kids under 16 with the goal of reducing the negative impacts of social media. Overnight, hundreds of thousands of teens were logged out of platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and X. Politicians called it a historic moment. However, within hours, the cracks were already showing.
Some teens found certain apps were still working for them. Others shrugged and moved on to platforms that weren’t restricted. A few just didn’t care because the apps they actually use weren’t affected. If this feels familiar, that’s because it is no different from the ESRB video game rating system or when early internet platforms added age requirements to sign up.
Bans Look Good On Paper, But The Internet Doesn’t Work That Way
On paper, Australia’s law is sweeping. Platforms are responsible for identifying underage users and removing them, or risk massive fines if they fail to comply with the new regulations. Age verification, government IDs, and new enforcement rules are the surface of the approach, but it’s easier said than done. The Australian government admits enforcement is primarily up to the platforms to decide how they implement restrictions. Some services are banned, like Facebook and Snapchat. Other apps such as Discord, Roblox, Steam, WhatsApp, and YouTube Kids aren’t.Â
The distinction between types of apps matters because kids don’t just stop being online if an app shuts down or blocks them. They will find workarounds or migrate to other platforms. People have already warned that internet bans or regulations tend to push kids into quieter, less visible corners of the internet. Places with fewer safeguards, minimal moderation, and less adult awareness. Restrictions don’t end online interactions; they force a change in where people congregate.
Millennials Already Lived This Experiment
If you’re a millennial parent, we’ve already stress-tested this idea firsthand. The early protocols asked if we were over the age of 13 before signing up, only for us to select yes despite being younger than 13. Forums, MySpace, LiveJournal, RuneScape, and early YouTube. We navigated all of it with no online security and minimal adult supervision. Not because we were reckless, but because the internet was an escape into a world vastly different from what most people knew. When something was restricted, it usually just meant figuring out ways to access it quietly.
We learned how to create alternative emails, change birthdates, lurk instead of post, and move to the next platform when one gets locked down. Kids today are no different. They’re just faster, more connected, and growing up with algorithm-driven systems we didn’t have. We must be honest about what history already taught us when it comes to regulating social media.
Control Of Internet Exposure Doesn’t Build Proper Digital Judgment
Australia’s goal to protect kids’ mental health and development is valid. Algorithms can shape identity, and engagement loops can exploit attention. Removing access without building understanding creates a gap. Eventually, kids turn 16, devices are abundant, and new platforms appear. In that scenario, kids who were only taught avoidance will be put in a position to navigate digital spaces without any context. That’s ironically more dangerous than teaching them proper digital literacy.
What Kids Really Need Is Digital Literacy
A more sustainable solution isn’t preventing kids from social media only for them to figure out workarounds, it’s preparing them for what they’ll encounter when they do.
That means:
- Teaching how algorithms influence mood and identity
- Talking openly about parasocial relationships and online validation
- Explaining why certain content spreadsÂ
- Giving kids a language for discomfort, manipulation, and misinformation
Digital literacy transforms the internet from a forbidden zone with numerous unknown risks to a place where kids can navigate accordingly because they are educated on the essential foundations of how to explore the internet for their benefit.  Digital literacy grows with the child as they learn how to use the internet. It works across platforms — even the ones lawmakers haven’t caught up to yet.
The Internet Isn’t Going Away
Australia’s ban is likely the first of many. Other countries are watching closely. Kids will always be online regardless if policies are implemented. As millennial parents, the first generation raising kids inside the internet we grew up alongside, our advantage is lived experience. We know what it’s like to explore digital spaces without a roadmap. We also know what we wish someone had explained sooner. The real opportunity isn’t stricter limitations to kids internet access. It’s better guidance. We can’t bring back the internet of our youth, but with Quvo, we can give kids the guidance and safety they need to explore, create, and grow online with confidence.
