When 15-year-old Carlee Jade Clements wakes up, her first thought is to record a Get Ready With Me video to share on TikTok. “I love recording everything and posting it the moment I have it,” says Clements, who lives in Melbourne, Australia. Like many teens, Clements connects with the world mainly through social media: Snapchat for messaging friends, Pinterest for ideas, and TikTok for everything else. But unlike most teenagers, she also uses social media for business; Clements has over 37,000 followers on Instagram, where she posts product reviews (think skin care and slime) and photos from her modeling and acting gigs.
But come December 10, 2025, that could all change. That’s when Australia’s Social Media Minimum Age regulation takes effect, banning Australians under 16 from having social media accounts. “It’s gonna be very weird and quiet and isolated,” says Clements. “I’m going to feel like I’m cut off from the world.”
Globally, there’s growing awareness about the negative effects of social media on adolescents. Even teens are acknowledging this issue, with nearly half of U.S. adolescents indicating that these platforms can be harmful. Australia is the first country to take significant legislative action; in December 2024, lawmakers passed the Social Media Minimum Age Bill, which will penalize platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, X, YouTube, and Reddit for allowing under-16s to access their services.
In response, these platforms are locking accounts and introducing age verification measures. Some, like Meta, have already begun enforcing these policies.
Teen content creators are also adapting. Zoey Bender, age 14, enjoys posting GRWM videos and sharing tips on making friends in high school and dealing with braces. “I love being creative about it,” says Bender, who has 58,000 followers on TikTok. After changing her handle from @heyitszoey to @_heyitszoeyandmark along with her dad, Mark, she hopes her account won’t be deleted on December 10 because it’s now overseen by an adult. She notes that many other teens with large followings are doing the same; Clements’ mom already manages her Instagram.
This means that once the age restrictions are implemented, their professional accounts will likely survive—though as teen and kid accounts get suspended, their engagement may drop and they could lose followers too. This decline could result in fewer free products and lower revenue, albeit modest amounts; for instance, 12-year-old Ava Jones, who has 11,500 followers on Instagram, estimates that she makes $1,000 to $2,000 AUD ($600 to $1,300 USD) a year, which she usually spends on makeup and clothes. “If that went away, I’d have to do more chores at home,” she says.
