Today Australia asks "Why won't somebody think about the children?" as it enacts a social media ban for U16s
From today in Australia, leading social media companies are banned from allowing kids aged 16 and under to access their platforms. It’s all the platforms you’d expect:
Facebook
Instagram
Threads
Kick
Reddit
Snapchat
TikTok
Twitch
X (formerly good as Twitter)
YouTube
As you’d expect, this is a hot topic in Australia right now. Teens are understandably annoyed. Adults are a mix of being either supportive or dumbfounded. And the social media companies are working through legal channels to get the ruling overturned.
The messaging surrounding the ban has been AWFUL. Here’s what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the kids of Australia in a media scrum this morning:
“make the most of school holidays coming up, rather than spending it scrolling on your phone”.
“Start a new sport, learn a new instrument or read that book that’s been sitting there on your shelf for some time,” he said.
“Importantly, spend quality time with your friends and your family, face to face.”
The problem that is trying to be solved here isn’t just to ‘get the kids off their phones,’ which is the message Albo is trying to push here. Instead the social media ban is supposed to be about an effort to curb the problems exacerbated for teens by social platforms: anxiety, depression, eating disorders, self-harm, suicide, etc.
It’s not as though any of those concerns are new for teenagers. But, social media amplifies them. Albo is trivialising his own policy.
(In Australia we call our Prime Minister ‘Albo’ because no political leader should be treated with more reverence than an FM radio disc jockey down under).
The social media ban is far from ideal, but I’m broadly supportive of the efforts. Consider me one of those “if it can save just one kid…” types.
A smarter approach would be to ban algorithms from social media apps used by those under the age of 18 — linear feeds, opt-in only follows, restrictions on hours of access, and a limit on the duration of scroll times.
Instead, we just have a generation of kids circumventing the restrictions through VPN access and other methods, an embrace of alternate platforms, and a general acknowledgement that the laws put in place don’t really work properly.
Worth a read is this paper from QUT Digital Media Research Center. The overall thesis being:
We, as a society, owe it to young people to create the practices, policy, and regulation that supports their wellbeing online. This means not excluding them from online spaces but doing the harder task of taking the reasonable steps to ensure that there are enjoyable, informative, and accessible spaces online that young people connect, learn, and play.
Again, legislation = better than no legislation. But we need to be doing a better job around what we are really trying to achieve with bans like this.
(Also see: my complaints about new legislation mandating Australian content quotas by streaming services… we just aren’t going to get the outcomes we want through the laws put in place)
I was amused-frustrated by friend of ABW
writing yesterday about how his daughter has a less-safe, less usable YouTube experience now with the restrictions in place:She’ll still be able to use YouTube. The law doesn’t stop that. She just can’t use YouTube with her account. Which means she gets, potentially, the worst of YouTube, and I can’t do a thing about it.
Her account is a premium account, so I pay to get rid of the advertising when she uses YouTube. Except the Australian government, in its brilliance, won’t let my daughter use YouTube under her premium account, so she will have to see all the advertising.
YouTube won’t know she’s under 16. Show could opt out of seeing gambling-related ads on YouTube - but to do that, she’d need to log in, which would mean she’d have a YouTube account, which she isn’t allowed. The same goes for ads for alcohol.
And she can’t use YouTube Music. If you’re unaware, YouTube Music is a bit like Spotify. Well, very much like Spotify. It’s got every song in it, and you can listen to all the songs. Just like Spotify. But I can’t let her use YouTube Music any more, because that requires access to the account that she can’t have access to.
The teens of Australia… and the general Australian citizenry… deserve better than the legislation that has been put in place. I prefer that there is the legislation than nothing being done at all, but the implementation of this has been a whole lot of nonsense.
News Desk
Jimmy Kimmel has extended his ABC contract for an extra year, taking him into 2027. Read: The Guardian
Many have speculated Kimmel opted to come back purely to prevent Trump from being able to claim a victory. And is it possible that Trump doesn’t even care about Kimmel, but instead just has him confused with Stephen Colbert?
James Van Der Beek made $47k selling Dawsons Creek merchandise to pay his medical bills. Read: THR
The Good Wife & Evil’s Robert & Michelle King are developing a new show for Hulu, Vatican City. It will be about the first woman appointed as a spokesperson for the Vatican. Read: Deadline
Emma Lloyd, Netflix’s vice president of partnerships EMEA, has removed herself from the Channel 4 CEO recruitment process. The UK broadcaster is expected to name its new CEO soon. Read: Deadline
Music videos are now available on Spotify in the US and Canada. Read: Deadline
The logline for this week’s South Park season finale/Christmas episode: “Satan’s due, Stan’s praying, and only a Christmas miracle can deliver the Antichrist on time.” Read: THR
2025’s best new TV show The Pitt makes good on its promise of delivering a new season on time every year, returning in 2026 less than a year since it debuted (beating its launch date by a single day). Read: X (formerly good as Twitter)
Sigourney Weaver is in talks to join the new Tomb Raider TV show. Read: Variety
Trailer Park
The Hunting Party is back on NBC Jan 8 for season 2.
Miss Scarlet returns for season 6 on PBS Jan 11.
Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders debuts on Netflix Dec 19.
When members of the Bansal family are found murdered, Inspector Jatil Yadav uncovers a trail of greed, betrayal and secrets tied to a deadly conspiracy.
The Upshaws is back Jan 15 on Netflix for its final season.
That’s the newsletter for the second time today.
Consider becoming a paid supporter of Always Be Watching.
Connect with Dan on Bluesky. Connect with Dan on Letterboxd. Connect with Dan on Linkedin. Email Dan @ alwaysbewatching.com or just reply to this email.
