More than 81% of 10 to 15 year olds in Australia are still using social media three months on after the ban on children under 16 began in the country, with nearly half saying platforms have never checked their age. More than 8 in 10 Australian teenagers continue to use social media despite the government ban on under-16s, finding ways to get around restrictions and maintaining daily contact with the platforms.
Reuters reports :
In a study published on Friday, eSafety found that most children aged between 10 and 15 were using social media just as often in March as they were before the ban began on December 10 last year, while parental awareness of their habits decreased.
“Most young people under 16 who had social media accounts before graduation were able to maintain them or create new ones in the quarter, with the failure of social media platforms to implement effective age-verification measures cited as the main reason,” eSafety reports.
Before the ban, nearly 86% of children surveyed reported using at least one platform. Three months later, that figure remained above 81%, eSafety reports. About 58% of teens reported using social media daily or more often, down slightly from about 60% before the ban. The survey showed little change in “sports and physical activity, arts and music, spending time with friends and family, and attending community events.”
About half of the children who kept their accounts said the platforms had not verified their age, the most common reason they were able to stay on the services.
Others said their accounts listed them as 16 years old or older, or that age verification systems had incorrectly determined they were older.
Although the press releases will range from very select to rare, I said I'd pass...because sometimes the editors hide.
