Australia's ban on social media for teens under 16 is failing, with seven in 10 teens still using platforms according to a state survey. Researchers like Candice Odgers, Meghan Moreno, and Jenny Radesky predicted bans would backfire, pushing teens to unregulated spaces and alienating them from adults. As a cultural anthropologist who has studied youth technology use for decades, Mizuko Ito argues these policies stem from technological determinism — the belief that technology is an inexorable force shaping society uniformly — and adult saviorism.

Both narratives overshadow science and lived experience. Social media isn't a contaminant but a circulatory system providing vital functions: connection, entertainment, information, creativity, and organizing. Over half of teens use it for social and emotional support, especially marginalized youth.

The binary "good or bad" framing narrows policy to access bans rather than examining design and use. Effective approaches must listen to young people and support positive online engagement instead of blanket prohibitions spreading across France, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, and Turkey.