Delaying Children’s First Use Of Social Media May Protect Their Mental Health: Study

 

A survey of 365 Australian adolescents aged 10 to 15, plus one of their parents, found that those who began using social media at a younger age reported more symptoms of anxiety and depression. Simply having a social-media account showed a weaker relationship with those symptoms, according to the findings published today in JAMA Network Open.

Conducted in the six weeks leading up to the Australian social media ban for children under 16 that came into effect in December 2025, participants were asked if they had ever used social media, the age at which they first used it and whether they currently had a social media account. They were also asked questions to measure symptoms of anxiety and depression.

 

The researchers found 70% of the youngsters had used social media, about half had a social media account already, while the average age they first started using social media was 11 years old.

“What surprised us was that the age children first started using social media appeared to matter more for their mental health than simply whether they had an account,” study chief investigator Associate Professor Susanne Schweizer says. “It suggests that delaying children’s first exposure may be a promising policy, especially if paired with training good digital hygiene and citizenship during the delay.”

 

Australia’s social media ban was introduced in response to growing concerns about rising rates of anxiety and depression among young people and the increasing use of social media.

Lead author and UNSW PhD candidate Anna Bilston says governments may need to think beyond simply restricting access if they want to protect young people’s mental health. “If we want to protect young people’s mental health, we need to think not only about whether they can access social media, but also about how young they are when they first start using it,” Bilston says.

 

The findings are the first published results from a larger Australian study tracking the mood of young people before and after the social media ban. Only a quarter of the 10-to-15-year-olds said they intended to stop using social media following the ban. Just over a third (34%) said they still intended to use it without an account, while a similar number (35%) said they intended to find a way around the restrictions to continue using their accounts.