Christmas unplugged: Australian teen social media ban brings holiday headspace woes

Sydney teenager Ayris Tolson believes the start of her first summer holiday under Australia's youth social media ban will be relatively easy as she spends time with family, but as the weeks drift by, she fears being alone and isolated. From December 10, Australia will impose a ​world-first social media ban on under-16s, blocking them from TikTok, Alphabet's YouTube and Meta's Instagram. More than one million under-16s will lose their accounts and nine days later break ‌for the long December-to-January holidays when most of Australia shuts down until February.