Report reveals social media restrictions are jeopardising young Aussies' access to news, with the worst yet to come

A new report has revealed that 26 per cent of young Australians aged 10-16 have already been significantly impacted by the social media restrictions introduced in December, and while they might be a minority, more than half of this group report getting less news about world events and local issues.

The report also found that one in three young Australians actively follow social media accounts to get news, but with access changing there is no equivalent substitute ready to take its place.

Social media is a primary news source for young people, used by 41 per cent for news ‘yesterday’, nearly double live TV and is far more popular than websites, apps, radio and podcasts.

Almost two in five (39%) young Australians don’t use any formal news sources beyond indirect (or passive) access on social media – for many, it is their only source of news outside of family and friends.

Lead researcher Professor Tanya Notley, from Western Sydney University’s School of Arts and Institute for Culture and Society, argues that there should be careful consideration of what young people stand to lose as policy enforcement improves.

“Our data suggests that, for many young people, blocking their social media access doesn’t redirect their news engagement – it ends it,” said Professor Notley.

“As the ban reaches more young people, as it’s intended to, it’s likely to get much worse.

“This is particularly concerning for young people without university educated parents who use fewer news sources and have less capacity to adapt and find news elsewhere.

“We also know young people who engage more with news have a stronger ability to identify misinformation, which is increasingly important.”

This disruption to established news-seeking behaviours is compounded by the fact that young people’s news diets are already limited, explains report co-author Dr Simon Chambers from Western Sydney University’s MARCS Institute.

“Young people often perceive traditional media as being out of touch, with many feeling their realities and concerns are not reflected in mainstream journalism,” said Dr Chambers.

“This leaves major gaps in news engagement, with limited options available to fill the role social media currently plays.

“We know that news engagement is closely linked with civic engagement. If we want young Australians to grow into informed, engaged citizens, we can’t accept their reduced access to news as a mere side effect of the online safety policy."

The report is produced by a research group from Western Sydney University, Queensland University of Technology and University of Canberra who lead the longitudinal Young People and News study. They are calling for news engagement to be part of policy deliberations and public discussions and for funding to identify initiatives that proactively support young people’s engagement with high-quality, trustworthy news sources.

The report ‘Social media ban: the impact on young people’s news engagement’ is available to download here.

A full report on the research will be published in the second half of 2026.

ENDS.

18 May 2026
Photo credit: Unsplash
Lauren Coskerie, Senior Media and PR Advisor