Australia's social media ban may not be that effective, study finds
Key takeaways
- The study found that teens used circumvention methods to get around the ban.
- Based on the information they gathered, more than 85 percent of teens under 16 continued using those social media apps, despite two-thirds of them reporting that they had encountered age checks.
- That said, the study also showed that affected teenagers found other ways to keep using social medial.
The study found that teens used circumvention methods to get around the ban.
Fg Trade Latin/Getty Images. The social media checks implemented in Australia after the country banned their use for teens under 16 have shown little evidence of being effective, according to a study by the University of Newcastle. Published in the British Medical Journal, the study surveyed participants between 12 and 17 years old before and three months after the law was introduced. It specifically looked at the participants' use of TikTok, X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.
Based on the information they gathered, more than 85 percent of teens under 16 continued using those social media apps, despite two-thirds of them reporting that they had encountered age checks. Approximately 54 to 68 percent of responders under 16 just kept on using their accounts. How, you ask? Well, the most common age check the Australian teens encountered was to self-declare their age, a method criticized by authorities in the country, as well as in other countries considering implementing the same law, due to its limited effectiveness. Among the responders, 24 to 39 percent encountered self-declared age verification, while 13 to 27 percent got through checks by uploading a selfie.