Australian teenagers bid farewell to social media as a world-first ban takes effect, blocking users under 16 from major platforms. In the hours before the ban began at midnight on Wednesday, teens and adults shared goodbye messages on TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, and other platforms. Melbourne creator Josh Partington, known for his comedy sketches on TikTok, wrote, \u201cI\u2019ll miss you guys,\u201d to his 75,000 followers. The Australian government has ordered 10 major platforms\u2014including TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook\u2014to block around one million users under the age of 16 or face heavy fines. TikTok alone has already deactivated 200,000 accounts, with \u201chundreds of thousands\u201d more to follow. Young Australians, who grew up using social media, expressed sadness, disbelief, and humor over losing access to their favorite apps. Many posted edits of favorite memes or urged followers to join alternative platforms such as Yope, Lemon8, and Coverstar. On Reddit, teens shared emotional messages on subreddits like r\/teenagers. One autistic 13-year-old wrote, \u201cMy playlist of 1,400+ songs on YouTube will be deleted, and Reddit too. I have zero friends\u2026 I will be completely alone for the next three years until I am 16.\u201d The ban marks a significant shift in social media access for Australian youth, affecting millions of young users nationwide. Some stayed online until midnight on Tuesday, posting clips of clocks counting down set to Adele\u2019s \u201cSkyfall\u201d and its lyrics, \u201cthis is the end.\u201d Others took their frustration out on centre-left Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who has lost 6,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram since Tuesday. \u201cJust wait until we\u2019re able to vote,\u201d one person commented on Albanese\u2019s TikTok account. Not all teenagers were against the ban. \u201cNgl (not going to lie), social media ban is probably for the best of us,\u201d a TikTok user said. \u201cAll we do is sit behind a screen for hours.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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