🎙️ Raising Youth Voices

🎙️ Raising Youth Voices

Beyond the Ban

Available wherever you listen

Conversations about young people and with young people on belonging, safety and what comes next.

  • 💬 67% of interviewees

    Said the ban alone is blunt, incomplete and insufficient on its own.

  • 💬 32% of interviewees

    Called for education or media literacy over prohibition of social media platforms.

  • 💬 21% of participants

    Said marginalised young people, including neurodivergent youth, lost the most.

💬 67% of interviewees

Said the ban alone is blunt, incomplete and insufficient on its own.

💬 32% of interviewees

Called for education or media literacy over prohibition of social media platforms.

💬 21% of participants

Said marginalised young people, including neurodivergent youth, lost the most.

What does the

social media ban

social media ban

mean?

What does the

Which platforms are banned and what it means for youth communities

mean?

Australia just became the first country in the world to ban under-16s from social media. Parents are relieved. Teens are frustrated. Experts are split. So what does the research actually say - and if young people still needs community, connection, and belonging, where do they go?


In this episode of the NARU Series, we break down the Online Safety Amendment Act 2024, look at the real data behind both the risks and benefits of social media for young people, and explore what meaningful connection actually looks like for youth communities post-ban.

S1: Beyond the Ban

S1: Beyond the Ban

Join the Podcast Live ▶️

Episode 1

Join Live

Boys, belonging, identity and the search for direction in a changing digital world.


Join NARU for a live conversation with Joel Hines, founder of Being Human, as we explore what the social media restrictions could mean for boys, what might fill the space left behind, and what young people actually need to thrive.


We will be joined by our youth guest, Mark Ong, a 2nd year student at the University of Melbourne. Together, we’ll uncover how the ban has really changed young people’s lives.


Register for the live conversation →

Thursday 15 October · 5-6pm AEDT

Young people don't need a blanket ban.
Their voices need to be heard.

Gen Z doesn’t need more motivation. They need structure with empathy.

"

It has both worked and not worked depending on the question you're asking… if the goal is the longer, long-term cultural shift, which is our goal… it sends a message to parents… that social media is harmful to children. And that's the beginning of a cultural change.

Dany Elachi

Founder of The Heads Up Alliance

"

I'm not a fan of the social media ban… Kids are just going to rebel against that.

They needed to replace something before something can get taken away.

Jacintha Field

Founder & Family and Child Counsellor,

Happy Soul Kids

Founder & Family and Child Counsellor at Happy Soul Kids

"

One of the most annoying things to hear is when it's used as a scapegoat for young people's mental health. It's so nuanced.

Sami Jenkins

Founder of Wilty Meetups

"

It's a very blunt instrument and doesn't really achieve the things that it is setting out to achieve… if we're worried about kids having access to the wrong kind of content, if we're worried about them having access to strangers, if we're worried about them going down rabbit holes on social media, a ban doesn't really fix those things.

Dr Michael Dezuanni

Chief Investigator,

ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child

Chief Investigator at the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child

"

“A lot of young people find community within their social medias, so especially, say, LGBTQI young people when they don't have the friends or family around them… having those communities that they have access to really supports their mental health.”

Jazzie Quinn

Youth Worker & Community Development

headspace

"

Where were the young people's voices in it? It was something that was done to them without consultation.

Anytime you put a wall in front of them, they work out… how can I get around it?

Joel Hines

Founder of Being Human,

Chief of Brands at The Impact Foundation

Founder of Being Human, Chief of Brands at The Impact Foundation

"

It has both worked and not worked depending on the question you're asking… if the goal is the longer, long-term cultural shift, which is our goal… it sends a message to parents… that social media is harmful to children. And that's the beginning of a cultural change.

Dany Elachi

Founder of The Heads Up Alliance

"

It's a very blunt instrument and doesn't really achieve the things that it is setting out to achieve… if we're worried about kids having access to the wrong kind of content, if we're worried about them having access to strangers, if we're worried about them going down rabbit holes on social media, a ban doesn't really fix those things.

Dr Michael Dezuanni

Chief Investigator at the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child

"

I'm not a fan of the social media ban… Kids are just going to rebel against that.

They needed to replace something before something can get taken away.

Jacintha Field

Founder & Family and Child Counsellor at Happy Soul Kids

"

“A lot of young people find community within their social medias, so especially, say, LGBTQI young people when they don't have the friends or family around them… having those communities that they have access to really supports their mental health.”

Jazzie Quinn

Youth Worker & Community Development

headspace

"

One of the most annoying things to hear is when it's used as a scapegoat for young people's mental health. It's so nuanced.

Sami Jenkins

Founder of Wilty Meetups

"

Where were the young people's voices in it? It was something that was done to them without consultation.

Anytime you put a wall in front of them, they work out… how can I get around it?

Joel Hines

Founder of Being Human, Chief of Brands at The Impact Foundation

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Reach out to us

Learn how NARU can help your organisation create safer online communities for young people.

Talk to us