Australian Teens Bid Emotional Farewell as World-First Social Media Ban Takes Effect
Australia enforces a world-first social media ban for users under 16, prompting emotional farewells from teens as platforms block hundreds of thousands of accounts.
Australian teens post emotional goodbyes online as a nationwide under-16 social media ban comes into effect.
Australian teenagers flocked to their favourite apps on Tuesday night for one final scroll before a world-first nationwide social media ban for users under 16 came into effect at midnight.
In a sweeping move aimed at protecting young users online, the government has ordered 10 major tech platforms—including TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook—to block approximately one million accounts belonging to minors or face massive penalties.
Mass Deactivations Begin
According to government data, over 200,000 TikTok accounts have already been deactivated, with “hundreds of thousands more” expected to be removed in the coming days as platforms implement age-verification measures.
The ban has sparked an emotional response from young Australians who have grown up on social media.
Teens Say Their Goodbyes Online
In the hours leading up to the deadline, TikTok, Instagram and Reddit were flooded with farewell messages.
“I’ll miss you guys,” wrote Melbourne content creator Josh Partington, who has more than 75,000 TikTok followers.
Teenagers expressed shock, grief and humour as they prepared to log off—some sharing countdown videos set to Adele’s Skyfall lyric “this is the end,” while others posted compilations of their favourite memes.
“I’m going to miss you so much… see you in a few years,” one TikTok user wrote.
“Goodbye, see you on the other side,” said another.
Reddit communities like r/teenagers also became emotional hubs for young users processing the ban.
A 13-year-old autistic user wrote, “I have zero friends. I will be completely alone for the next three years until I am 16.”
Migration to New Platforms
Many teens urged their followers to join emerging platforms such as Yope, Lemon8 and Coverstar, which are currently not covered under the new legislation.
Political Fallout
Some users directed their frustration at Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who reportedly lost around 6,000 followers across his social media accounts since Tuesday.
“Just wait until we’re able to vote,” one teenager commented on his TikTok profile.
A Divided Reaction
While many young users mourned their digital social lives, others said the ban may ultimately be beneficial.
“Not going to lie, the social media ban is probably for the best,” a TikTok user posted. “All we do is sit behind a screen for hours.”
