Australia’s new age-based social media restrictions took effect this week, and the public mood appears clear. A national survey commissioned by Monash University shows overwhelming support for the government’s decision to bar children under 16 from accessing major platforms. Almost four out of five adults surveyed backed the move, suggesting the country is far less divided on the issue than the ferocity of online debate might imply.
The survey, funded by the Australian Research Council and conducted by Roy Morgan, reached 1,598 adults across all states and territories. It found 79 per cent supported the ban, with the strongest backing coming from older Australians. Eighty per cent of those aged 50 to 64 agreed with the restrictions, climbing to 87 per cent among respondents aged 65 and above. Support among 18 to 24 year olds was lower at 72 per cent, though still a clear majority. The pattern reflects a growing generational split over the role of social media in everyday life, as well as divergent views on how far government should go to shape online behaviour.
Professor Mark Andrejevic, who leads the research team behind the survey, framed the ban as a response to the influence of a small group of technology giants that shape the online experiences of children. “This ban targets a handful of powerful, overseas platforms that profit from tracking young users to capture their attention and pepper them with ads,” he said. He noted rising concern about lightly regulated advertising, a decline in fact-checking and the rise of misinformation. “These apps are flooded with loosely regulated ads and have scaled back fact-checking just as misinformation surges. They are using increasingly powerful algorithms to determine how best to capture and exploit young people’s attention. It’s a timely intervention in an increasingly unregulated digital environment.”
The Australian move has sparked international interest, particularly as governments around the world weigh new restrictions on platforms that have become central to youth culture. In the United States, lawmakers from both major parties are backing the Kids Off Social Media Act, which would prevent companies from pushing algorithmic content to children under 17. A shift that once felt politically unlikely is gathering momentum across several democracies.
The Monash survey suggests the Australian public has reached a rare point of cross-party agreement. Among those who identified with the Nationals, support reached 88 per cent. It was 85 per cent for Liberal voters and 82 per cent for Labor. Greens-identifying respondents were supportive at 71 per cent. Support among those who identified with the Libertarian Party was far more restrained at 52 per cent, highlighting entrenched scepticism about government intervention in the digital sphere.
Respondents who backed the ban pointed to concerns about influence and manipulation directed at young people. Many stressed that children are still developing the critical thinking skills needed to navigate persuasive online systems. Worries about mental health, bullying, extremist content, misinformation and grooming were common themes. For many, these risks had outweighed the familiar argument that early digital sociality equips young people for modern life.
Among those opposed to the ban, the reasons were wide-ranging, with State intervention and censorship topping the list. Others questioned whether the ban would work in practice, and whether it would remove important support networks for young people, especially those from marginalised communities who rely on online spaces to find peers and feel less isolated. Critics argued that such blunt policy could unintentionally cut off a lifeline for the very groups policymakers want to protect.
Professor Andrejevic said he understands concerns about sweeping reforms, yet doubts major platforms will adopt meaningful safeguards without external pressure. “This is a big ask for a system that channels untold wealth to those who have cracked the formula for filling our feeds with whatever is most likely to provide a quick dopamine hit, regardless of accuracy, civility or democracy,” he said. He added that traditional media institutions still operate under duties of care that large technology platforms have sidestepped. “Unlike other media institutions, these platforms are not in the business of taking responsibility for the content they circulate. The platforms do not care about the wellbeing of our children or our democracy, that is up to us.”
The research team behind the survey includes Associate Professor Zala Volcic and Dr Isabella Mahoney from Monash University, along with collaborators Fae Gehren and Kyle Herbertson. Their findings arrive at a moment when countries are searching for credible ways to manage digital risk without shutting the door on the social and educational opportunities the internet provides. How the policy unfolds over the coming months, and how effectively it is enforced, will shape the broader debate on children’s digital rights.
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