Early days, early insights: Understanding experiences of social media age restrictions at the three-month follow-up
This report explores the early experiences of children, as well as their parents, three months after the commencement of Australia’s social media age restrictions.
It describes early findings from eSafety’s evaluation of the age restrictions, drawing on baseline data collected before the commencement of the age restrictions (November to December 2025) and data from the three-month follow-up survey (March to April 2026).
This report is the first in a series that will be published over the course of the two-year evaluation.
It highlights any changes observed since the commencement of the age restrictions and provides an early assessment of how the restrictions are being implemented and experienced (for example, whether children continue to hold accounts on age-restricted social media platforms or have lost access to them), alongside early outcomes and any potential unintended consequence.
While substantial changes were not necessarily expected at this early stage, the report highlights how the restrictions are being experienced by children and their families, helping to identify emerging issues that may warrant ongoing monitoring.
What this report can and cannot tell us
This report provides a snapshot of children’s and parents’ early experiences three months after the commencement of the social media age restrictions, offering insight into initial patterns of access, behaviour, and emerging signals of change.
Importantly, the value of this report lies not in determining the long-term effectiveness of the policy, but in examining whether the early changes anticipated under the policy are beginning to occur and whether the foundations for longer-term outcomes are being established.
Download the report
Watch the recap about the findings
eSafety's evaluation of the social media age restrictions: Three-month follow-up
Last updated: 31/07/2026