The social media ban in Australia has had a limited impact, with 78 per cent of under-16s still accessing affected platforms and parents left doing much of the enforcement work, according to new research from global data and insights company Pureprofile Limited.
Following its first report in December 2025 that found 84 per cent continued to access banned social media apps, this second phase of research has gathered perceptions and attitudes towards the ban from 1,025 parents, teachers and young Australians.
While support for the ban continues to be high (76 per cent vs 73 per cent in 2025), 41 per cent of under-16s say they’ve tried to get around the ban. Parents reported a similar figure, with 43 per cent saying their children have made an attempt.
More older children have tried to find a workaround versus those that are younger – according to 46 per cent of 13-15-year-olds and 49 per cent of their parents vs 37 per cent of 8-12-year-olds and 41 per cent of their parents.
“This validates the pre-ban scepticism: in 2025, 68 per cent of all respondents believed children would be able to continue to access social media platforms despite the ban,” the authors stated.
Inconsistent age-verification tech leaves parents struggling to enforce ban
A key finding of the report, according to Pureprofile, is that age-verification measures appear inconsistent in both reach and effectiveness. Only 31 per cent of children report having undergone face-scanning age verification, and of those, roughly half say they were able to pass as over 16.
With “platforms not managing to block under-16s”, the authors said parents are having to enforce the ban themselves. Over half (57 per cent) of parents say they have tried to enforce the ban, while 42 per cent of those parents say they found it difficult to do so.
Pureprofile CEO Mr Martin Filz said: “Six months post-ban, the findings suggest many of the concerns raised before the ban have materialised. While support for the policy remains strong, parents are under overwhelming pressure to enforce it – fighting to control a highly tech-savvy generation accessing platforms via browser instead of in-app, using their friends’ accounts, signing up with fake birthdays and more.
“It’s clear the ban’s success or failure now rests firmly on what’s happening at home, at least until enforcement technology catches up to the reality on the ground. As the report suggests, success is generally strongest where families have the capacity and digital fluency to take an approach that balances relationship, education, sensible oversight and empowerment.”
The ban’s positive influence
Despite its perceived inconsistency, parents and children have reported participating in more outdoor and offline activities since the ban, with 77 per cent of parents finding its impacts positive (up from 47 per cent in 2025).
Both parents and children have said they are now prioritising offline activities like reading, sports and creative hobbies over screen time while others are gaming and watching TV more or choosing to watch YouTube under supervision.
“Even though the social media ban does require refining for a more consistent performance – as all new technology does – it’s also encouraging to see families taking the opportunity to spend more time outdoors and offline,” Mr Filz said.
“Some children undoubtedly miss online interactions with their friends, but many are also making full use of their extra time for in-person socialising with family and friends.”
Kids shifting platforms as online risks remain
A side-effect of the ban is teens moving their online activity out of sight rather than out of risk.
The report found that under-16s are “switching platforms” rather than leaving online spaces altogether, such as moving to YouTube Kids and accessing Discord instead of banned platforms. Some banned platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat, on the other hand, saw increased usage for 8-12-year-olds in parent/child reporting, the report found.
While platform use may be changing, children’s exposure to harmful content remains significant.
Twenty-nine per cent of 13-15-year olds and 37 per cent of 8-12-year-olds report exposure to violent/graphic content, while 35 per cent of eight- to 15-year-olds have been exposed to content deemed bullying, harassment or hateful. Others have also reported seeing sexual, age-inappropriate, racist or self-harm/eating-disorder content.
Yet, of parents who report that their child has been exposed to inappropriate content, more than 80 per cent are more likely to care about enforcing the ban.
“Other countries have been studying Australia’s progress with the ban and have considered emulating it, and this data has good takeaways for them to refine their strategy,” Mr Filz said.
“Ultimately, policy alone cannot determine success; it requires parental motivation and ability to effectively restrict harmful social media use.”
Key findings
- Six months in, 78 per cent of under-16s still use banned platforms
- 42 per cent of parents find it hard to enforce the ban
- Only 1 in 3 under-16s have had their faces scanned for age verification, and half of those were able to pass as over 16
- Support for the ban remains high, with 76 per cent of Australians still backing the policy
