More than 80% of Australian teenagers continued to access social media three months after the country introduced a ban on under-16s using the platforms, according to Australia's online safety regulator.
In a report published on Friday, eSafety found that most children aged between 10 and 15 were using social media just as frequently in March 2026 as they had before the restrictions came into force on 10 December 2025.
Age checks failed to stop access
According to the regulator, most under-16s who already had social media accounts before the ban were able either to keep them or create new ones.
eSafety said the primary reason was the failure of social media companies to implement effective age-verification systems.
Before the ban, almost 86% of surveyed children reported using at least one age-restricted platform. Three months later, that figure remained above 81%.
Daily usage barely changed
Around 58% of teenagers said they used social media daily or more often, only slightly down from about 60% before the ban.
The report also found little change in participation in sport and physical activity, arts and music, time spent with family and friends, or involvement in community activities.
Most children saw no impact
Although some children had expected the restrictions to affect their wellbeing, more than 65% said the ban had no impact on their lives.
The report found that about half of the children who retained their accounts said platforms had not checked their age at all.
Others reported that their accounts listed them as aged 16 or older, while some said age-verification systems had incorrectly identified them as being above the minimum age threshold.
Shift towards messaging and gaming platforms
Researchers also recorded an increase in the use of online messaging services and gaming platforms among children.
Australia became the first country in the world to legislate a ban on social media access for children under 16, citing concerns about the impact on young people's mental and physical health.
The findings form part of a two-year study examining the effectiveness of the policy and its impact on children's online behaviour.
