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Why social media ban for Australia’s under-16s may isolate teens during summer holiday

As blocks begin on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram before the summer holiday, teens worry they will be ‘basically isolated’ from their friends

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Australian teens Annie Wang (left), 14, and Ayris Tolson, 15, check their phones a few days before Australia’s social media ban for users under 16 is scheduled to take effect on December 10. Photo: Reuters
Reuters

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.
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“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.

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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.
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