Navigating the online world as a 15-year-old is no simple task. Anyone can attest to the constant pressure to stay on top of trends, conform to certain looks or behaviors, and remain continuously connected.

The digital landscape is often overwhelming and draining, leaving many teenagers feeling they might actually be better off without it.

Social media has not just infiltrated modern teen life – it’s bulldozed its way in, reshaping daily experiences.

However, proposing a complete ban on social media might not be the panacea it’s sometimes portrayed to be.

In my view, banning these platforms penalizes the users, but they aren’t the root of the problem. It’s the apps themselves that need scrutiny.

Banning every under 16 doesn’t fix the parts of social media that are actually broken. It doesn’t change the algorithms that shove extreme content in your face. It doesn’t make platforms take responsibility for the way they design apps to keep us addicted.

When someone finds a way around the ban, because trust me – they will, the cycle just repeats.

Nothing improves. The problem doesn’t disappear, it just goes into hiding.

Cutting teenagers off such a big part of society for the first 16 years of life doesn’t “fix” social media. It just means that when we do turn 16, the shift is an unnecessary confrontation with reality that could so easily be softened.

Policies like these act as if every teenager is the same. That’s not true – as if a 12-year-old on TikTok at 2am is identical to a 15-year-old using Instagram to keep up with school, friends, and sport. A harsh rule doesn’t recognise differences.

Differences in people, in apps.

I don’t want to be treated like one big problem to be managed.

If governments actually wanted to help, they’d go after the companies. Force them to fix features that make social media so damaging – streaks, instant gratification, constant notifications. Instead we’re stuck with a ban, which is the most basic solution to this complex problem.

I could’ve thought of it.

I’m not against it. Not fully. I can see where they were coming from. I see the addiction in society, I see it in myself.

But there were so many ways to help. To help kids see themselves in lights that aren’t overshadowed by their phones. What Australia needed right now wasn’t an age restriction, a blanket ban, a loss of trust with the government.

What Australia needs is an overhaul, a genuine effort to collaborate with social media companies on making them a safer and useful place for everyone.

They took the easy option, and it will fail.

Until they choose the harder option, this policy isn’t protecting teenagers. It’s just avoiding the truth.