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Young LGBTQ+ Australians look to social media for mental health support and a sense of community. The social media ban risks exacerbating existing mental health inequity.
Globally, youth mental health is in crisis, and the Australian Government’s recently passed legislation banning social media access for young people, the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024, is not the answer.
The ban neglects the positive aspects of social media for mental health support for young people. Furthermore, rather than directly addressing the negative impacts of social media use for young people created by a failure to hold social media companies responsible for online content moderation, the ban shifts accountability to guardians, as well as to young people themselves who will inevitably still find ways to access social media despite the legislation.
Critically, the regulation discounts and misunderstands diverse experiences of marginalised communities accessing online digital mental health support, particularly queer youth experiences, exacerbating existing mental health inequity and inaccessibility for 1 in 10 young Australians (aged 16–24 years) who identify as queer.
Research shows that 73% of young Australians (aged 16–25 years) regularly use social media to search for mental health information or have done so in the past; 35% with a probable serious mental illness search for mental health information on social media once a week or more; and more than 50% experiencing mental health challenges use social media as a substitute for professional support. Banning young people’s access to social media risks diminishing these benefits for the broader population. Moreso, queer young Australians are at greater risk. A recent piece in The Conversation raises the alarm, asking, “in the absence of social media, where do young people questioning their sexual or gender identity go to find information and support?”.
A well documented determinant of youth mental health is queer experiences. This includes a plurality of experiences and identities, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender diverse, intersex, queer, asexual and questioning persons (LGBTQ+). Like other marginalised Australian youth in mental health, such as young Indigenous populations, young Australians who identify as queer encounter significant mental health disparities. These include high rates of anxiety, depression, self-harming, and suicidal behaviours and significant difficulties accessing peer and professional support, compared to heterosexual and cisgender counterparts. Research indicates that 59% of queer young Australians experienced some form of mental health support on social media. Moreover, 44% join or follow social media groups specifically for queer people. Additionally, 74% of young trans Australians report that using social media makes them feel better about themselves. And social media provides a safe space for queer identity expression and development.
Yet, diverse queer experiences remain glaringly understudied as they relate to the use of social media for mental health support in Australia. Limited studies report on, for instance, experiences with internet-based mental health services and related access and suitability considerations among queer youth in rural areas; trauma-informed, queer affirmative school-based mental health programs; and online knowledge-seeking behaviours. As a result, existing societal biases are perpetuated on social media. For example, gender classification algorithms used on social media platforms, which this community often uses to access mental health information or peer support, replicate ongoing gender binary prejudice and overlook diverse gender identities and expressions. Beyond the inherent problem of persistent invisibility of queer experiences in digital mental health research and system development level problems, poor regulation presents a key threat to equitable and accessible digital mental health support, especially impacting queer young Australians.
A regulatory tipping point
The Act, which will take effect in December 2025, introduces a mandatory minimum age of 16 years to access social media. At face value, restricting young people’s access to social media removes immediate risks of increased isolation and hostile interactions (eg, cyberbullying), which may contribute to worse mental health outcomes, including increased psychological distress and depression and anxiety symptoms. Yet, it demonstrates regulatory ignorance of the diversity of experiences with these technologies as pathways for youth mental health promotion and support and exacerbates existing inequities experienced by queer young Australians.
Restricting young Australians’ access to social media has consequences for those regularly seeking mental health information and support on social media platforms. Furthermore, it disregards young people’s digital skills to avoid harm on social media and fact check information. Research highlights that 53% of young Australians check the credentials of online content creators, and 58% take a “grain of salt” approach to any mental health content they find on social media. Additionally, a ban disproportionately and negatively impacts marginalised communities that experience existing disparities in digital technology and mental health access, including queer young Australians, who use social media for mental health support at high rates.
Moreover, it obscures a persistent failure to govern social media platforms’ accountability for content regulation on their platforms in Australia. The Act introduces lawful requirements for social media companies to integrate age verification controls on their platforms to prevent young Australians from accessing them to keep them safe online. But it “does not reduce harmful content or features within social media”. Young Australians will find new ways to access and continue to use social media regardless of controls, just as users successfully circumvent online controls worldwide, risking worse outcomes if social media content regulation continues to go unchecked. Furthermore, social media companies have conflicting financial interests that depend on users and traffic, which would otherwise be incompatible with new measures that restrict users and traffic, leaving doubt about their enforcement of the ban effectively and without privacy concerns. In the end, accountability inappropriately falls to young people’s caregivers, who may not have the necessary knowledge and digital literacy to provide appropriate oversight, which aligns with the views of social media companies and contradicts the central driving factor of the ban: parents’ calls for government intervention in keeping young people safe on social media. Finally, as a non-starter, the ban also stifles inalienable human rights set out by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, including the right to freedom of expression, the right to freedom of association, and the right to access to information.
A radical, alternative vision
Continuing to disregard queer voices in the regulation of social media for young people threatens to miss opportunities to realise mental health benefits associated with enabling peer social support, diverse identity expression and exploration, safe, queer-inclusive online spaces, and access to mental health resources and service pathways. A dramatic shift towards a bottom-up regulatory approach is needed to ensure equitable access and flourishing among queer young Australians.
More research is necessary to address persistent knowledge gaps at the intersection of queer young Australians and the use of social media for mental health and thereafter adequately leverage this approach. To date, this group’s relevant needs, values, expectations, attitudes, and user requirements remain under-surveyed and thus unaccounted for. Given that this area is under-explored and sensitive, the social and ethical considerations for social media in the queer young Australian mental health care ecosystem, relevant stakeholder attitudes, perceived potential added value and possible risks, and implications for care practice and policy are unclear and thus require investigation.
Going forward, regulation ought to carefully consider and account for the diversity of experiences with social media as pathways for youth mental health promotion and access, as well as support greater digital and mental health literacy, awareness, and information about possible risks associated with use. As opposed to the looming top-down restrictive approach, a bottom-up approach supports diverse online experiences, acknowledges and supports the continued growth of young people’s digital skills to avoid harm online, and allows social media to contribute to mental health positively, especially among queer young Australians. Beyond that, new policy should seek to keep young people safe by holding social media giants accountable for content regulation on their platforms.
Dr Adam Poulsen is a Research Fellow and Computer Scientist at The University of Sydney Brain and Mind Centre, Sydney.
Professor Ian Hickie AO MD, FRANZCP, FASSA, FAHM, FRSN is Professor of Psychiatry and Co-Director, Health and Policy at The University of Sydney Brain and Mind Centre, Sydney.
Samuel J Hockey is a Lived Experience Researcher at The University of Sydney Brain and Mind Centre, Sydney.
Dr Frank Iorfino is a Senior Research Fellow at The University of Sydney Brain and Mind Centre, Sydney.
Dr Haley LaMonica is a Board Certified Clinical Neuropsychologist and Associate Professor with the Youth Mental Health and Technology team at The University of Sydney Brain and Mind Centre, Sydney.
Acknowledgements
Adam Poulsen was supported by a philanthropic donor who wishes to remain anonymous. Ian Hickie is supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) L3 Investigator Grant (GNT2016346). Frank Iorfino was supported by an NHMRC EL1 Investigator Grant (GNT2018157).Haley LaMonica was supported by funding from the Bill & Patricia Richie Foundation and a philanthropic funding donor affected by mental health who wishes to remain anonymous.
Competing interests
Ian Hickie is a Professor of Psychiatry and the Co-Director of Health and Policy, Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney. He has led major public health and health service development in Australia, particularly focusing on early intervention for young people with depression, suicidal thoughts and behaviours and complex mood disorders. He is active in the development through co-design, implementation and continuous evaluation of new health information and personal monitoring technologies to drive highly personalised and measurement-based care. He holds a 3.2% equity share in Innowell Pty Ltd that is focused on digital transformation of mental health services. All other authors have nothing to disclose.
The statements or opinions expressed in this article reflect the views of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official policy of the AMA, the MJA or InSight+ unless so stated.
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