This week, Australia became the first country to ban children aged under 16 from using most social media platforms. Many teenagers in the country are furious about the policy, but for social scientists, it offers a natural experiment to study the effects of social media restrictions on young people. Technology companies have had a year to come up with ways to stop teens using their platforms, including Facebook, X, Reddit, YouTube, Threads and Snapchat. From 10 December, companies must take reasonable steps to prevent Australian's under 16 from creating or keeping accounts, or risk fines of up to Aus$49.5million (US$33 million). Other countries including France, Denmark and Spain have introduced social media restrictions for young people, or announced plans to, but no policy is as far reaching as Australia's. The government there says social media is harming young people's mental health, causing teens to lose sleep because of addictive design features, and exposing them to harmful...
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