Sydney teenager Ayris Tolson believes the start of her first summer holiday under Australia’s youth social media ban will be relatively easy as she spends time with family, but as the weeks drift by, she fears being alone and isolated.
From December 10, Australia will impose a world-first social media ban on under-16s, blocking them from TikTok, YouTube and Instagram.
More than 1 million under-16s will lose their accounts and, nine days later, break for the long December-to-January holidays when most of Australia shuts down until February.
“You’re basically isolated for about six weeks during the school holidays,” says Ayris, 15. “As it continues on, I will probably feel more attached to social media. It’s not such a good time.”
Mental health experts say a roll-out right before the longest school holiday of the year may worsen the shock for teenagers who rely on the technology for socialisation and will not have the grounding routines or institutional supports of school.
The cold turkey effect of no school and no socials will be especially pronounced for children in remote locations or minority groups like migrants and LGBTQ people, who lean more on the internet for connection with like-minded people, the experts say.