Cunning teens

Radio NZ reports:

It has been almost two months since Australia’s world-first social media ban for under-16s came into effect, and for Adyan, 14, life has not changed too much. …

The ABC spoke with teenagers across the country. Most of them had not been banned. Those who had found ways around it.

“I didn’t get any warning on anything. When I first made my social media accounts, I had already set my birthday before the year I was born. So I was born in 2010, I think I had set it to like 2007,” said Evie, a 15-year-old from Adelaide.

Alby, 14, also never received a warning. Instead, he has seen the ban spawn a new wave of entrepreneurs.

“Now there’s sort of like a market for it of younger people under the age of 16 giving money to their friends or people they know that are older to do ID scans for them, or your parents doing it for you. So it’s really easy to get around.

“I personally haven’t even gotten, like, a message saying, ‘You’re banned’ or had to do any ID scans. I’m still on it, but my friends that have, they’ve all got around it.”

You almost have to admire the teens who have basically set up businesses helping other teens get around it. Young ingenuity.

To be fair the ban will probably become more effective over time. Teens already on social media will of course find ways to stay on. But younger children who are not already on, may end up waiting until they are 16.

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