Candice Odgers Warns Under-16 Social Media Bans Will Backfire as 85% of Australian Teens Stayed Online
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jul 16
Candice Odgers Warns Under-16 Social Media Bans Will Backfire as 85% of Australian Teens Stayed Online
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jul 16
Summary
Odgers says bans on teen social media use are likely to worsen mental health outcomes by driving young people into less safe, less regulated spaces and making them less likely to report harm.
More than 85% of under-16s in an Australian study were still using social media three months after the ban took effect, evidence she cites to argue teenagers will evade restrictions rather than stop.
After 25 years studying adolescent mental health, Odgers says the data show social media is at most a limited factor in depression and anxiety, with recession, Covid, opioid addiction and adult mental health also driving the crisis.
She still calls for tougher action on platforms and perpetrators—especially over sextortion and image-based abuse, where women and girls make up 80% to 90% of victims—rather than spending on school phone pouches or blanket bans.
The intervention challenges the influence of Jonathan Haidt's 2 million-copy case for strict limits as the UK, Australia and the EU move toward tighter youth online rules.
With social media bans failing, could a global 'tech tax' actually fund a cure for the youth mental health crisis?
As courts rule social media designs addictive, are platforms facing their own 'Big Tobacco' moment of legal reckoning?
Australia’s Under-16 Social Media Ban: 80% of Teens Circumvent Law, Raising Questions About Effectiveness and Global Policy Trends
Overview
Australia's social media ban for children under 16, introduced in December 2025, had limited impact by March 2026, as many teens found ways to bypass the restrictions. While the ban was somewhat effective for younger children, it struggled to stop adolescents already active on social media. This highlights the difficulty of enforcing such rules among tech-savvy youth. Major platforms like Facebook and TikTok are under investigation for possible non-compliance, and parents remain frustrated with the law’s effectiveness. The early results suggest that simply banning access is not enough to address the complex challenges of youth online safety.