Australia rolled out a national law on December 10, 2025 that aims to stop children under 16 from holding social media accounts unless a parent or carer gives permission. About three months later, the first snapshots of impact are in, and the picture is mixed: some parents are noticing benefits, researchers see nuance, and regulators are preparing much longer studies.

Where the numbers come from

Two main sources have dominated the early coverage. One is a YouGov online poll of 1,070 Australian adults conducted January 12 to 14, 2026. The other is initial enforcement activity reported by Australia’s eSafety Commission and follow-up data from third parties tracking actual app use.

The headline findings from the YouGov survey

  • Positive changes reported by parents: Among parents of children under 16, 61 percent said they had seen two to four positive effects since the law began.
  • Most-cited improvements: 43 percent reported more in-person social interaction; 38 percent said their child was more present during face-to-face moments; another 38 percent noticed improved parent-child relationships.
  • Negative or worrying shifts: 27 percent of parents noted children moving to alternative or less regulated platforms, and 25 percent saw reduced social connection, creativity, or peer support online.
  • Views on making the ban work better: About two thirds of respondents thought more parental involvement would help, and 56 percent supported stricter enforcement and better age checks.

But the survey has limits

The YouGov data offers early clues, not definitive proof. The survey does not say what share of the sample were parents, nor the exact ages of their children. It was run in mid January, which falls in the Australian summer holiday period when social media use tends to dip. Importantly, the poll captures parents, not the young people themselves.

What platforms and enforcement show so far

Australia’s eSafety Commission reported that platforms removed about 4.7 million accounts last December. That figure includes inactive and duplicate accounts, so it likely overstates the number of individual young people who lost access.

Independent reports and data from parental-control providers suggest real-world social media use among under-16s dropped only marginally in the first three months. There are also reports that some young people are finding ways to get around age checks and to move to apps with weaker rules.

Research that listens to young people

Researchers are already collecting better data. An ongoing study using passive sensing and questionnaires has baseline information from 171 young people gathered before the rules took effect. That baseline found that 40 percent of 13 to 16 year olds were either supportive of the restriction or indifferent, which challenges the idea that all teens hated the change.

The same early data showed that watching short videos is the most common activity on these platforms, but only 16 percent of young respondents thought that was a good use of their time.

Planned official evaluation

The eSafety Commission has committed to a large, independent evaluation with academic partners. The design is longitudinal and will follow more than 4,000 young people aged 10 to 16 and a parent or carer over at least two years. The participant group will intentionally include young people from rural areas and people who are neurodiverse, so the study can look for uneven effects across different communities.

The evaluation will directly measure time spent on apps, rather than relying only on self-reports, and aims to document both intended and unintended consequences as implementation continues.

What to expect next

Enforcement and technical fixes will be the immediate focus. Platforms face fines up to A$49.5 million if they do not take the reasonable steps required by the law. Regulator reports on compliance are coming, and they will attract global attention.

But lawmakers and researchers caution that meaningful change will emerge over years, not weeks. Early wins may appear among children who have already been removed from accounts, but the bigger effect may be on future cohorts whose parents set different norms around the right age for phones and social media.

Bottom line

After three months, there are promising signs that some families are experiencing better face-to-face time and improved relationships. At the same time, the data are incomplete, young people’s voices are underrepresented in early surveys, and tech workarounds make enforcement messy. The real test will be the long-term studies and whether parental norms shift with the law.