How will the social media age restrictions affect me?

Accounts expose you to features like constant notifications, stories and snaps that disappear and recommended ‘For You’ content, to grab your attention and keep you on your screen longer. These features can impact your health and wellbeing by:  

• making you feel stressed about keeping up with the latest posts  
• making you get less sleep  
• making it harder to switch off and concentrate on other things  
• making you constantly compare yourself with other people
• showing negative, upsetting or manipulative content in your feed.  

The aim of the social media restrictions is to protect under-16s from these impacts.  

The idea is to give you and other young people more time to build emotional, social and digital skills – so by 16 you’ll be better at noticing if things are becoming harmful and knowing what to do about it.  

It’s understandable that you might find the change challenging – especially if you already have an account you’ll lose, or you were just about to get one. But eSafety’s research shows many young people think there will be some positives, like spending more time doing things you enjoy and feeling less stressed.

Find out more about social media and mental health at Beyond Blue. 

In eSafety's view these services will not be age-restricted social media platforms:

• Discord
• GitHub
• Google Classroom
• LEGO Play
• Messenger
• Roblox
• Steam and Steam Chat
• WhatsApp
• YouTube Kids

On social media platforms that are age-restricted, you’ll still be able to see publicly available content that doesn’t need an account – including most videos on YouTube.  

This means you can still search for and watch videos, read posts and find information – as long as the platform you’re using allows access without logging in. You’ll lose access to private content (content posted by people whose accounts are set to private), but as your friends who are also under-16 won’t have accounts either, you won’t be alone.

Also, you’ll still be able to use most apps and platforms that are mainly designed for messaging or online gaming, as well as online services that share health and educational information and support.  

You can still go to these platforms:

• My Circle is a free, private, safe and confidential social forum for 12- to 25- year- olds – and it’s good for your mental health.
• Beyond Blue forums are open to under-16s – there’s even one where you can discuss how you’re feeling about the social media age restrictions. 

Now is a good time to chat with your friends and family about how you want to stay connected outside of social media. For example, you could set up a group chat on a messaging platform with your closest friends and bookmark the websites of your favourite influencers. You can use eSafety’s Get-ready guide and action plan for under-16s to check you have everything covered.

Just remember that even unrestricted platforms, messaging services and online games that under-16s are allowed to use can have risks. You still need to know how to spot and deal with difficult situations like being cyberbullied or being asked for nudes, and how to protect your identity. 

I need help

You can also find eSafety advice for young people on many topics including:

• Pressures from social media
• Bullying online
• Online hate
• Trolling
• Protecting your personally identifiable information
• I'm being pressured to share nudes
• Someone is threatening to share my nudes
• My nudes have been shared
• Receiving unwanted nudes

Age-restricted social media platforms will have to take steps to find and remove or deactivate accounts held by under-16s. They are meant to do this in a way that is as safe and supportive as possible, within the guidelines of the law.  

To do this, eSafety has suggested to platforms that they give you clear instructions on how you can download, transfer or access your data, like saving your favourite posts, photos and important contacts. Visit the ‘Help’ or ‘Support’ section on the platform if you’re unsure what will happen to your account data. You can also check The eSafety Guide for advice on downloading content and protecting your personal information on common platforms, games, apps and sites.  

Platforms are meant to remove accounts belonging to under-16s. Instead of removing accounts, some platforms may deactivate them so they can be reactivated with all their existing data when you turn 16. But you shouldn’t rely on platforms to provide this option. It’s best to download any data you want to save, including connections, posts, chats, photos and videos, before 10 December. 

Follow the tips in eSafety’s Get-ready guide and action plan for under-16s, including how to save your most precious data and content.  

It’s important to stay connected with people and groups who support you. If social media was your main way to engage with family, friends and online communities, or to access your news, entertainment and wellbeing support, this change might feel like a big loss.  

The best thing you can do is to talk openly with friends and family about how this change will impact you. Together you can start exploring other ways to stay connected, supported and informed. For example, you could set up a group chat on a messaging platform with your closest friends and bookmark the websites of your favourite influencers. You can use eSafety’s Get-ready guide and action plan for under-16s to check you have everything covered.  

If you don’t have anyone close who will understand what you’re going through, you could contact a free and confidential counselling or support service – they’re ready to help with your health and wellbeing (including sexual health advice).  

It’s a good idea to think about the communities you’re part of on social media, how else you can access them and where you can get similar support.  

Explore these ReachOut pages for lists of national, state and territory-based services and ways to connect:

• Support services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
• Ways to connect with community if you're a First Nations young person
• Yarn up - a space where young First Nations people access wellbeing resources and support.
• Support services for culturally and linguistically diverse young people
• Culturally diverse LGBTQIA+ support services and groups
• LGBTQIA+ support services

You can also check eSafety's info for young people on Being out, transgender or gender diverse online.

This is a big change and you may be concerned about losing access to the people, content and communities you love. It will take time to adjust but you don’t need to do it alone.  

If you’re feeling confused, isolated or unsure about where to turn, help is available:

• Reach out to a trusted adult in your life who you feel safe confiding in about difficult things - it could be someone like a parent, teacher, older sibling or cousin.
• If you don't have anyone close you can talk with, you can contact Kids Helpline (for 5- to 25-year-olds), eheadspace (for 12- to 25-year-olds), Beyond Blue (for all ages), or another free or confidential counselling or support service.
• Go on the forum set up by Beyond Blue for young people, where you can safely discuss how you're feeling about the social media age restrictions.
• Check out these ReachOut resources:
  - What to do when you're feeling lonely - 11 helpful tips
  - Ask a therapist: What to do if you're feeling lonely
  - How to cope when things are out of control
  - 7 tips for dealing with change

The new law isn’t meant to punish you. There won’t be any penalties or fines for under-16s who have or create social media accounts, or their parents or carers.  

But social media platforms will have to take steps to find and remove or deactivate accounts owned by under-16s, and prevent new ones being created. They will also have to take steps to stop under-16s getting around the law. This includes having ways to prevent under-16s from faking their age by using false identity documents, AI tools or deepfakes. It also means trying to stop under-16s from using VPNs to pretend to be outside Australia.    

If the companies don’t take reasonable steps to do this, they will be breaking the law – and they can be fined up to $49.5 million by a court. 

It's important to remember that no matter how old you are, if you have a harmful experience online you should reach out for support - even if you're under 16 and it happens on social media. 

• Depending on what has happened, there are different ways to get support from eSafety or other services. You won't get into trouble.
• Visit eSafety's I need help page for young people for information and guidance on what to do about cyberbullying, threats to share nudes and other issues online.
• If you're nervous about reporting to eSafety, you can speak first with a free, confidential support service like Kids Helpline (for 5- to 25-year-olds), eheadspace (for 12- to 25-year-olds) or Beyond Blue (for all ages), or choose another counselling or support service.

There are high-tech ways to check age, when someone is signing up for an account or later. It will be up to each age-restricted social media platform to decide which methods it uses.  

But you won’t be allowed to just give a fake birthdate without the platforms checking it. They will have to take steps to stop under-16s getting around the law. This includes having ways to prevent under-16s from faking their age by using false identity documents, AI tools or deepfakes. It also means trying to stop under-16s from using VPNs to pretend to be outside Australia.  

There’s a chance that some users who are 16 or older may have their accounts removed or deactivated by mistake. The platforms have to give users an easy way to request a review, then correct the error, so no one is unfairly prevented from having an account.