Australia has banned social media for everybody under the age of 16 — and it couldn’t be more foolish.

As of Dec. 10, the Australian government has put into effect a bill introduced in 2024 that would put a ban on social media for users under the age of 16. This ban is Australia’s effort to prevent children and young teenagers from harmful content and effects from social media.

This bill serves as Australia’s best preventative measure to combat an internet that is rampant with hateful and explicit content like misogyny, racism, promotion of eating-disorders, early sexual activity and “doomscrolling,” nipping the subsequent negative mental effects like depression and self-esteem issues in the bud — theoretically.

However, people need to consider the fact that teenagers’ entire social lives are reliant on the digital landscape.

Without a connection to the rest of the world, the Australian government has effectively isolated a major part of its future population: teenagers.

Social media is essential to millions of people’s daily lives by allowing them to be more readily exposed to a world of global connections, for better or worse. It’s one of people’s only outlets of creative expression in the modern day.

Enabling people to explore communities from all over the world can easily allow people to broaden their beliefs, be exposed to new ideas and connect with people they usually wouldn’t. The creation of social media gave people a great way to find communities they relate to just by staying digitally active.

But Australian legislators had to weigh the benefits and detriments of social media on their teenage population. And their decision ignored the pleas of the teenage population that would actually be affected.

From an adult’s view, teenagers are on their phones too much and are constantly at the risk of the dangers on the internet. It’s easy for them to criticize when they’re not the ones being affected even if they’re on their phones the same amount.

While the “good” side of social media is inherently intertwined and inescapable from the negative that comes along with it, that is a risk that anyone has to take if they’re going to be on social media — not just children. While children are certainly more impressionable, adults alike are affected by social media.

But a natural facet of having an online presence is learning how to stay safe online and that’s a lifelong skill. To deny children that due is only going to hurt them in the long run when they do inevitably join social media.

Australia can’t just pick one poison to stop. They might not want to ban social media for adults in fear of violating their free speech, but they’ve already decided to strip their children of that same right.

If it wants to protect its country from a universal threat, it shouldn’t only consider one portion of its people.