Australia’s Youth Social Media Ban - Brave Step or Overstep?

Many in the UK may be in support of an outright social media ban for under-16s. But this article suggests that there are weaknesses in the way this has been approached in Australia, claiming that young people have no to little agency, with adults simply making these decisions for them. It raises some thought-provoking challenges to the idea of a blanket ban.

The key points are:

• In 2024, the Australian Federal Government announced plans for a blanket social media ban for young people under 16. This is due to take effect on 10 December 2025, and platforms will have to verify users’ ages and block existing underage accounts.
• The article examines the proposed policy through the lenses of moral panic theory and critical youth work and questions whether the ban represents a proportionate, evidence-based intervention or a symbolic political gesture rooted in adult anxieties. Moral panics typically exaggerate or distort legitimate issues, critical youth work challenges deficit-based constructions of young people and advocates for them as active societal members whose experiences represent a vital source of knowledge for policy development.
• The author suggests that several characteristics of the Australian social media ban align with the criteria for a moral panic - concern, hostility, consensus, disproportionality and volatility. He argues that the proposed ban reflects the concept of adultism, where adult authority is privileged at the expense of young people’s agency and that it risks limiting young people’s civic participation instead of fostering the digital literacy required to navigate online spaces safely and confidently.
• The article concludes that the proposed ban exhibits the hallmarks of a moral panic and sidelines young people’s voices, sets a precedent for future exclusionary policies and risks the rise of less regulated or legally circumventive social media platforms
• The author also raises the issue that currently social media serves as a vital engagement channel for youth workers with young people and its removal would create barriers to participation.

What do you think about a blanket ban on social media for under 16s?

Do you agree with any of this author’s challenges?

What does meaningful consultation and engagement with young people look like in our own youth ministry contexts when we are setting rules and boundaries?

You can read the full article here:

Moral Panic and Australia’s Under-16 Social Media Ban: A Critical Youth Work Perspective. Dr John Sutcliffe