'I feel free': Australia's social media ban, one month on
55 minutes ago Share Save Lana Lam Sydney Share Save
Watch: 15-year-old Lulu tracks her social media use following the Australian ban
For the first time in years, Amy feels free. One month since Australia's teen social media ban kicked in, she says she is "disconnected from my phone" and her daily routine has changed. The 14-year-old first felt the pangs of online addiction in the days after the ban started. "I knew that I was still unable to access Snapchat - however, from instinct, I still reached to open the app in the morning," she wrote on day two of the ban in a diary she kept for the first week afterwards. By day four of the ban – when ten platforms including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok went dark for thousands of Australian children aged 16 and under – she had started to question the magnetic pull of Snapchat. "While it's sad that I can't snap my friends, I can still text them on other platforms and I honestly feel kind of free knowing that I don't have to worry about doing my streaks anymore," Amy wrote. Streaks - a Snapchat feature considered by some as highly addictive – require two people to send a "snap" – a photo or video – to each other every day in order to maintain their "streak" which can last for days, months, even years.
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