Overnight, more than a million Australian teenagers have lost access to their social media accounts.
This world-first legislation bans under-16s from the platforms that have shaped youth culture for more than a decade, including TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, Facebook, X, Reddit, Twitch, Threads and Kick.
The ban is designed to safeguard young people from the harms of social media, including addictive design features, exposure to inappropriate content and the mental health impacts linked to heavy use.
Meta estimates approximately 500,000 Instagram, and Facebook accounts belonging to 12 to 15-year-olds have been deactivated. Snapchat identified similar numbers. Add TikTok and YouTube to that, and the total numbers are significant. Platforms face fines of up to $50 million for non-compliance.
If any part of your marketing strategy is aimed at young Australians, even adjacently, this affects you. And even if teenagers aren’t your audience, the ripple effects will alter organic reach, influencer trends, content formats, algorithm behaviour and platform demographics across the board.
Australia has entered a new era of online safety.
And while most commentary will focus on the politics or cultural debate, another question remains: What happens to a marketing ecosystem when an entire generation suddenly disappears from it?
A fast recap of the ban
The Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 introduced a strict minimum age of 16 for social media accounts, which took effect on December 10.
Unlike other countries, Australia allows no parental consent exemptions, meaning you can’t sign a permission slip for your 14-year-old to stay on TikTok.
Platforms must take “reasonable steps” to identify underage users or face significant penalties. That’s why Meta began shutting down suspected under-16 accounts in late November 2025. Snapchat has rolled out ConnectID bank-linked verification and TikTok is increasing machine-learning age detection.
Platforms not affected include WhatsApp, Messenger, Discord, YouTube Kids, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Roblox and most gaming platforms.
How can brands reach teens when the gates are locked?
Teenagers drive trend formation, cultural moments and the velocity of online content. When they vanish from mainstream platforms, the tone and tempo of social media will inevitably shift.
It is predicted that trends will slow. Meme cycles will stretch. Content that relied on teen humour, fast-moving challenges or youth aesthetics will lose a major source of energy.
But teenagers will not stop consuming content. They will simply consume it differently, and far more anonymously.
Some will move to platforms that aren’t banned, like YouTube Kids, Roblox, Discord, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or Messenger. Others will view social content through parents’ accounts, shared devices or household screens. They may not log in, comment, follow or share, but they will still watch.
Brands have always marketed to under-16s, and that does not change. Children and teenagers are a major commercial audience who influence household spending, shape cultural trends and develop brand preferences early, which is why categories like snacks, gaming, fashion, entertainment, tutoring and family attractions deliberately design campaigns with young consumers in mind.
While the demand for youth marketing remains, the method must change. Brands can no longer target teens directly on social platforms, so the focus will need to shift from precise demographic targeting to creating content teens encounter passively, anonymously and often through their parents’ devices.
This marks the biggest shift in youth marketing in a decade. Teens are still part of your audience, but you will no longer be able to see them. Brands can’t target them. Platforms won’t count them. Analytics won’t show them.
Traditional tactics built on teen influencers, TikTok challenges, Snapchat AR effects and age-specific targeting might just fall away. The next phase will be defined by gaining a better understanding of how under-16s will navigate content without accounts or identifiers and pivoting quickly.
What brands should do now
- Pivot youth messaging towards parents: Parents become the new digital gatekeepers. Teens may still consume content, but it will often come via an adult device. Your messaging must resonate with both the decision-maker and the invisible viewer standing behind them.
- Design content for the “invisible viewer”: Under-16s will consume content without leaving digital footprint. No likes. No comments. No shares. Your creative must work without engagement signals by grabbing attention quickly and delivering the message independently of algorithmic feedback loops.
- Move youth engagement into real-world spaces: When the digital window narrows, physical presence becomes powerful again. Expect a resurgence in sporting grounds, public transport, shopping centre activations and retail pop-ups.
- Target the platforms that aren’t impacted: Youth culture will migrate to the platforms where they can gather, including Discord, Pinterest, Roblox, YouTube Kids and gaming environments. These are not traditional social platforms, so marketing approaches will need to be rethought. However, marketers will need to keep in mind the government has said the list isn’t fixed. If kids flock to a new platform after the ban and it raises similar concerns, it may be added to the restricted list.
- Reassess influencer strategies: Creators under 16 will lose their accounts, and their audiences will disappear with them. Authenticity and relatability will matter more than follower count. Brands should pivot to:
- Older teen creators
- Young adults
- Parent creators
- Teachers, coaches and mentors
- Revive modern “pre-social” channels:
Teenagers still listen to music, travel on buses, and watch streaming services. These channels regain strategic importance. The old school tactics of youth marketing that existed pre-social media will likely return as essential tools. Think:- Spotify ads during school commutes, weekends and holidays
- Radio spots during drop-off and pick-up
- TV advertising, from free-to-air to streaming platforms
- Bus and bus-stop ads in school zones
- Billboards along school travel corridors
- Cinema ads before PG and M-rated films
- In-store retail experiences
- Digital screens in shopping centres
- Advertising in GP clinics, pharmacies
- Physical activations where young people gather
- Sponsorships for youth sporting teams
- Prepare for algorithm volatility: As over a million accounts vanish, platforms will spend weeks recalibrating. Expect unusual fluctuations in reach, engagement and audience composition. Let the dust settle before making any dramatic changes to your content strategy.
The takeaway
Brands that adapt early will be the ones who thrive. The audience hasn’t gone anywhere. Only the account has. Teens will continue to shape culture, trends, family purchases and brand reputations. Reaching them now requires creativity, subtlety and an agile understanding of how young people consume media without logging in.
Get in touch today to discover how we can help you reset your marketing strategies.
