Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese faced criticism after boasting about the recent social media ban for under-16s while suggesting alternative activities on his own social media platform.
An Instagram post by the Prime Minister, marking a month since the restrictions were implemented, triggered a mix of amusement and confusion among followers.
The post featured a series of seven images, including Albanese engaging with a group of netball players, cycling through the neighborhood in business attire, and reading stories to children.
In his post, Albanese encouraged children to visit local beaches or pools, assist in cooking dinner, play football, or indulge in creative activities like drawing, painting, or building something special.
“That means more time for reading, bike rides, and sports—and less time lost to scrolling,” the post stated.
Social media users were quick to point out the irony, questioning if the activities depicted in the images were representative of the average family’s holiday experience.
‘The irony that this is a post on social media,’ one said.
‘I like the laws but he is right – it’s ironic,’ another agreed.
The staging of the post needs work with Albanese (pictured) unconvincingly riding his bike around the neighbourhood in his work attire while men in suits look on
Albanese has made a raft of school holiday activity suggestions for children affected by the social ban
‘This whole post looks like a parody! Have you been hacked?’ a third questioned.
Others argued the ban had not been effective.
‘My 15 year old sister is still able to use Instagram so… not the greatest job in the world,’ one commented.
‘I am under 16 and using instagram Anthony Albanese and I am not f****ing going to draw an artwork cuz,’ another said.
Some used the post to raise broader concerns about childcare, accessibility and family support.
‘So are you going to give parents enough leave from work to cover all the school holidays? And build safe accessible communities for families? Including single parents, parents with disability etcetera,’ one said.
‘Definitely all great things to do. But younger children need their parents there to do any of these things, which isn’t compatible with how we currently structure work.
‘I’m grateful I had some leave to take over the school holidays, but it never covers the full month and a bit.’
Some parents have used the post to raise broader concerns about childcare, accessibility and family support for parents during school holidays
But not all the feedback was negative. Others praised the social media ban and the Prime Minister’s message.
‘This is exactly what our kids should be doing. Thanks for saving our generation.’
‘We’re seeing way more kids out on bikes than before the ban, including our son.’
Australia became the first country in the world to ban teenagers under 16 from social media.
Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Snapchat, Twitch, Kick, X, YouTube, and Reddit are among the platforms banned, with fines of almost $50million for failing to take action in removing under-16s from their platforms.
Communications Minister Anika Wells said the list of sites is dynamic and may expand if children migrate to other platforms not already included in the ban.
Online bullying, exposure to harmful content and ‘predatory algorithms’ have been cited as the main reasons for the ban.
Grieving parent Robb Evans sees his late daughter Liv’s battle with anorexia nervosa, which ended in tragedy in April 2023, as sparked by schoolyard bullying and fanned by Instagram.
‘The claws were in so deeply she couldn’t see a place to recover,’ he said.
Emma Mason has a similar tragic story about her daughter, Tilly, who was bullied on social media, including having a fake nude image of her circulated online.
However, there are other emerging arguments that preventing children from developing social media habits at a young age may have wider health benefits.
