Riley Allen, a 15-year-old schoolboy living on an Outback sheep ranch, doesn’t know how he’ll keep in touch with his circle of far-flung friends once Australia’s world-first social media ban takes effect on Wednesday.
Riley’s family lives 5 kilometers (3 miles) from Wudinna, a community of just over 1,000 in South Australia state. But some of his school friends live as far as 70 kilometers (43 miles) away.
“I don’t think the impact will be very positive for us. We don’t have a lot out here to get in contact with each other,” Riley said.
“I’m not sure how we’re going to keep in touch over the holidays with each other,” he said, referring to the Southern Hemisphere summer break that starts on Thursday.
Riley and others younger than 16 will be banned by law from holding accounts with Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube and Twitch
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