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How a social media ban would have changed my teens

We speak to three students about Australia's social media ban.

Australia is banning social media for everyone under 16. The government says it鈥檚 to protect children from cyber bullying, harmful content and online predators. TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube, X (formerly Twitter) - they鈥檙e some of the platforms that are going to be banned. Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has already started kicking under-16s off its apps. An estimated 150,000 Facebook users and 350,000 Instagram accounts are expected to be affected. The social media ban will come in to effect from December 10.

Lots of teenagers are unhappy about this social media ban. But what about Australians who are now over 16? Do they wish they鈥檇 had something similar? We chat to Felix, 20, Lia, 19, and Habibat, 21, to find out.

Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld
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Presenter: Hannah Gelbart
Producers: Benita Barden, Mora Morrison and Julia Ross-Roy
Researchers: Natalia Makohon and Rio Rennalls
Editor: Verity Wilde

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16 minutes

Last on

Tue 9 Dec 2025 03:50GMT
麻豆社 World Service East and Southern Africa, South Asia, West and Central Africa & East Asia only

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  • Mon 8 Dec 2025 18:50GMT
    麻豆社 World Service News Internet
  • Tue 9 Dec 2025 03:50GMT
    麻豆社 World Service East and Southern Africa, South Asia, West and Central Africa & East Asia only

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