Less Freedom, Same Social Media Problem | Dirt Report

What the restrictions cover

From 10 December 2025, platforms including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Reddit, X and YouTube were required to take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under 16 from creating or keeping accounts. Children and parents are not fined if a child gets through the system.

The restrictions do not completely prevent children from viewing public content that does not require an account. Standalone messaging and online gaming services are generally outside the current restrictions. This means watching public content without logging in is treated differently from having an account that enables features such as comments, uploads and notifications.

Fewer accounts, but use remains high

eSafety released its three-month report on 31 July 2026. It followed children aged 10 to 15 and their families from before the restrictions began through the first three months of operation.

The proportion of children holding an account on at least one restricted platform fell from 52.4% to 42.1%, which the report described as a statistically significant reduction. However, reported use fell only from 85.9% to 81.5%. More than four in five surveyed children were still using at least one age-restricted platform after three months.

Among all children surveyed, 13% had an account before the restrictions but no longer had one after three months, while 37% had accounts at both points. Of the children who still held accounts, 50.2% said the platform had not asked them to confirm their age. A further 18.2% said their age had been estimated incorrectly, and 37.1% said their account listed them as aged 16 or over.

Activity shifted and parents knew less

The report indicated that children’s online activity shifted rather than disappearing. Reddit use increased, while daily use of messaging platforms rose from 40.5% to 52.3%. Some children used virtual private networks or received help from parents, although these workarounds were described as much less common than other ways of getting through age checks.

Parental awareness declined. Before the restrictions, 23.3% of parents were unaware that their child had recently used social media. Three months later, that figure had increased to 33.3%. Among parents of children aged 10 to 12, unawareness rose from 35% to 49.1%.

The report also recorded some changes that parents may regard as positive. The proportion of children who thought people their age without social media were missing out fell from 43.3% to 36.3%. Parents reported less pressure to allow social media because other families were doing so.

No early change in measured wellbeing

After three months, the evaluation found no measurable change in sleep, self-esteem, general wellbeing or psychological distress. Around 65% of children said the restrictions had made no difference to them, approximately 20% reported a negative impact and about 12% reported a positive impact.

The report describes these findings as an early snapshot rather than a final verdict. The wider evaluation is scheduled to continue for two years, so the first three-month results cannot establish the long-term effects of the policy.

Age assurance is spreading beyond social media

The video also raises the implications of age-checking systems for adults. Since 24 February 2026, Apple has blocked Australian users from downloading App Store apps rated 18+ unless the App Store has confirmed they are adults using what Apple describes as reasonable methods. The transcript notes that this does not mean every adult must upload a driver’s licence, and Australian law prevents platforms from making government identification the only option.

Apple’s Declared Age Range system can provide an age bracket rather than an exact date of birth. Users can generally choose whether to share that range with an app, share it automatically or refuse, with the app being told only that the user is over 18. This illustrates how age assurance is becoming part of app distribution and operating-system infrastructure, not only an individual platform feature.