Abstract:
Four months after Australia banned under-16s from major social media platforms, only about a quarter of affected teenagers comply, and the way the ban is designed makes that share more likely to erode than to grow. In December 2025, Australia became the first country to ban under-16s from holding accounts on major social media platforms, and comparable legislation has since been adopted, drafted, or proposed in more than a dozen other countries. We surveyed roughly two thousand Australian teenagers four months after the ban took effect. Compliance is low, around 25%, and is unlikely to consolidate. Teenagers say they would need roughly two-thirds of their peers to comply before complying themselves, and they perceive compliers as less popular than non-compliers. Sustaining higher compliance will require pairing the ban with instruments that act on social norms and individual incentives directly.
