‘Posting zero’ trend proves stronger than Australia’s ban

Lydia Spencer-Elliott, The Independent

Thirteen-year-old Ella from Sydney uses social media to stay in touch with her friends — and to help her sleep. Hitting play on an autonomous sensory meridian response video (ASMR), which features soothing sounds like whispering or clinking to provoke relaxation and appease insomnia and anxiety, has become a ritual to help her drift off after a long day at school. “I was listening to those videos nightly,” she says of the habit. “It was my routine. Now it’s gone.” From midnight on Tuesday 9 December Australia became the first country in the world to ban children and teenagers under 16 from using social media after the law was successfully passed this summer. Apps including Meta’s Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X (Twitter), TikTok, YouTube and Snapchat are included, as well as Amazon-owned live streaming service Twitch. Tech companies will face fines of up to A$49.5m (£25m) for non-compliance, with Meta already beginning to shut down thousands of accounts belonging to children under 16 a week before the deadline.

Michael “Wippa” Wipfli, an Australian radio presenter, comedian and father of three under-16s, was among those who led the campaign to bring the history-making legislation into effect. “(Social media) was the number one topic, not only keeping parents up at night but, coming up on the sidelines of every sporting field,” he says. “Very quickly, this became the largest petition ever signed on this topic globally ... I think a lot of people were shocked to know that the law previously said children could be online at 13. That was, really, made up by tech companies.

“We spoke to a lot of professionals, paediatricians, developmental paediatricians, parents and educators to find out if we’re able to give these children another three years — 36 months — to grow and develop in a healthy teenage way,” he says, explaining the groundwork that was done ahead of the law. “My kids, Ted is 10, Jack is nine, and Francesa is five ... What we’ve been saying a lot is, we need to give these kids a chance to get to know themselves before the world does,” Wippa adds.

Clinical psychologist Dr Danielle Einstein, whose research helped inform and shape the under-16s social media ban, says evidence has shown that, despite use of videos like ASMR, excessive reliance on social media is linked to depression, anxiety, eating disorders, loneliness, sleep disruption and academic difficulties. “Far from being a source of protection, these platforms amplify self-focus, insecurity and impair brain functioning in the early years of high school before teens have the hardware to restrain thinking thoughtfully about their use,” she adds. Ella’s mum, Sally, who works closely with an MP in her position in an Electoral Office on the outskirts of Sydney, was initially on board with the social media ban — until she heard more about the planned rollout. “I thought it was a fabulous idea. I was concerned my own children were spending too much time on social media, and as a parent — when their phone is in their hand — it’s hard to police that ... Unfortunately, I began to realise the legislation seemed very rushed ... It didn’t seem like the input of the under-16s was taken into account.”

As well as her concerns over losing her nightly ASMR videos, Ella has been worrying about the increased social isolation that could come from the ban. “I usually send my friends relatable videos and post some videos on a private account,” she says. “A lot of my friends are really worried about the ban. I have one whose childhood friend lives in a different country. She communicates with her a lot on TikTok and Snapchat. Nobody wants it to happen.”

Two nights before the ban was set to come into effect, Ella shared a TikTok video lamenting the fact that the 10 December launch date coincided with International Human Rights Day. At the time of writing, the post has over 44,000 likes, 1,300 comments, 5,300 shares and over 258,000 views. “This country has turned into a dictatorship,” one person commented. “So, I only have a few more hours enjoying my favourite part of the day?” another user mourned.

Like weaning oneself off of any addiction, Sally suggests that going cold turkey may not have been the best idea. “To just say, ‘Let’s take social media away’ is going to be highly anxiety-inducing,” she says. “It’s what they’re used to. To just rip it away from children with no discussion, no suggestion of what to do instead, is totally the wrong way to go about it. You need proper planning. Proper counselling. That would’ve been wonderful and could have been introduced.” Additionally, Dr Einstein says one law is simply not enough to make effective change. “History shows that single measures rarely shift deeply ingrained behaviours,” she says. “Just as tobacco control requires taxation, advertising restrictions, public education, and smoke-free environments, protecting children from social media harms will require a multi-layered strategy.” Einstein nods to equipping parents and schools with knowledge, time and money to make changes as a critical additional step, as well as introducing a duty of care regulation on social media sites, so all Australians — not just children — can feel better about tech use. “Let’s be clear, this regulation signifies the start, not the end of our efforts to find balance.”

Wipfli acknowledges that his blanket ban on all under-16s may not be perfect. Many parents and critics have already informed him that children are able to get around the ban using VPNs (virtual private networks) or even putting a photo of their parent or a celebrity in front of the age verification screening camera. “Nobody expects it to be perfect,” he claims. “There’s always going to be a way around things, but we have to start somewhere. There is no silver bullet. We need to change behaviour. So, we need education. That’ll be the next step.”

Could a social media ban be coming to the UK? Wipfli says there has been interest in his campaign among leaders from Britain, Europe, Japan and the Philippines. A petition was launched in the UK, which secured over 100,000 signatures, meaning it was debated in parliament this February. “The government is not currently minded to support a ban for children under 16,” came the response. Instead, the priority was said to be working with Ofcom to effectively implement the divisive Online Safety Act 2023 so all social media users can benefit from much-needed protections — and tech companies can be fined up to £18m or 10 per cent of their revenue worldwide (whichever amounts to more) for non-compliance.

Yet, for all of its addictiveness, there are stats to show that social media — in the age of AI slop posts and Keir Starmer having a TikTok account — might not be that cool any more, anyway. Although “slop” might give users an easy hit of dopamine, this endless brainrot content may ultimately be turning people away from screens in favour of more analogue pursuits.