Kids and Teen Influencers in Australia Say ‘Bye-Bye’ to Social Media

When 15-year-old Carlee Jade Clements wakes up, her archetypal thought is to grounds a Get Ready With Me video to stock with her friends connected TikTok. “I emotion signaling everything and posting it the infinitesimal I person it,” says Clements, who lives successful Melbourne, Australia.

Like galore teenagers, Clements communicates with the satellite chiefly done societal media: Snapchat for messaging her friends, Pinterest for inspiration, TikTok for … well, everything. Unlike galore teenagers, she besides uses societal media professionally; Clements has implicit 37,000 followers connected Instagram, wherever she often posts merchandise reviews (skin care, slime) and photos from her modeling and acting gigs.

But arsenic of December 10, 2025, that volition change. That’s erstwhile Australia’s Social Media Minimum Age regularisation volition spell into effect, which volition forestall Australians nether 16 years aged from having societal media accounts. “It’s gonna beryllium precise weird and quiescent and isolated,” says Clements. “I’m going to consciousness similar I’m chopped disconnected from the world.”

Globally, radical are starting to recognize however societal media tin negatively interaction adolescents. Even teenagers themselves are seeing this: Almost fractional of adolescents successful the US assertion these platforms harm radical their age. Australia is the archetypal state to instrumentality superior action. In December 2024, legislators passed the Social Media Minimum Age Bill, which volition penalize tech platforms (including TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, X, YouTube, and Reddit) that let under-16s to entree their platforms.

In response, platforms are locking accounts and adopting property verification requirements. Some platforms, including Meta, started to enforce it early.

Teen contented creators are taking steps, too. Zoey Bender, property 14, likes to station GRWM videos and tips: for making friends successful precocious school, for starting seventh grade, for dealing with braces. “I emotion being originative astir it,” says Bender, who has 58,000 followers connected TikTok. “It’s my outlet.”

Her grip utilized to beryllium @heyitszoey. In November, she and her dad, Mark, changed it to @_heyitszoeyandmark, with the hopes that her relationship won’t beryllium deleted connected December 10 due to the fact that it’s present managed by an adult. She says that galore different teenagers with ample followings are doing the same; Clements’ ma already manages her Instagram account.

That means that erstwhile the property restrictions are successful place, their nonrecreational accounts volition apt inactive exist—although arsenic teen and kid accounts are suspended, their engagement volition apt spell down, and they whitethorn suffer followers, too. That would mean a diminution successful escaped products and successful revenue, though it’s mostly not a immense amount: Ava Jones, 12, who has 11,500 followers connected Instagram, estimates that she makes $1,000-$2,000 Australian ($600-$1,300 US) per year, which she mostly spends connected constitution and clothes. “If that went away, I’d person to bash much chores astatine home,” she says.