Australia’s Digital Detox: The Politics of a Nationwide Social Media Ban
On December 10th, 2025, Australia became the first country to implement a nationwide social media ban. At midnight, the Social Media Minimum Age Act came into effect, deactivating millions of accounts belonging to anyone under the age of 16. Zoe, a teenager from Brisbane, described the chaos that ensued the day the ban was passed: “We’d all heard about it, but nobody thought it was going to happen,” she said. “Everyone was shocked.”