Our latest Sandbox explores the under-16 youth social media bans, first introduced by Australia this past December. A growing number of countries have followed suit, with Indonesia, Brazil, and, as of June 1, Malaysia all now requiring social media platforms to implement similar age verification measures.
It’s a complex issue with emotive arguments on both sides: depending on your point of view, bans could help parents steer children away from the addictive ‘digital tobacco’ doom-scroll, or they’ll isolate children even further, whilst forcing all adults to upload their ID to browse TikTok.
But if young people increasingly shift to non-legacy platforms and physical spaces, this could mark a pivotal moment for self-starters to be bold and create innovative marketing that will generate career-long fan connections.
In response to the changes to main platforms, alternatives like Yope, a photo-sharing app, and Lemon8, a TikTok-integrated community platform by ByteDance, have been climbing the app charts. VPN usage will also be on the rise, although some countries, like France, are looking at ways to combat this, too.
As more countries start introducing and enforcing verification methods, marketing campaigns that heavily rely on strategies like Gen Z and Alpha-oriented 15-second hooks will likely see their reach shrink. This will be a big loss in terms of introducing new artists to young audiences.
While artists and marketing teams may mourn the loss of easy reach to younger generations, the ethical case for embracing the change is strong. Advocacy groups have long spoken out against the effect of attention hijacking and AI slop on youth, with studies suggesting that youth are particularly susceptible to social media addiction, including impact on sleep, distortion of reality and associated learning challenges.
Some ban commentators view the communication gap as an instigator for new solutions, rather than a permanent obstacle. As brand consultant Kurt Stuhllemmer put it, the bans could be the kick in the pants that youth marketing needs to “grow up”.
“Youth culture does not live exclusively on platforms – it never has. It lives in bedrooms and school playgrounds, in sports clubs and gaming worlds, in music, fashion and family kitchens,” said Stuhllemmer for Quirk’s Media.
Tips for evolving with the bans
Pivot back towards ‘owned’ channels. Websites, email newsletters, SMS lists, WhatsApp groups are all great opportunities for rerouting from socials. (Though please do your research on data collection and privacy compliance.)
Test demographic-agnostic approaches. Subbing in for the traditional, fast hook-oriented marketing on socials for under-16s, consider campaigns that can work across demographics and build long-term brand value. Lego is a brand that does this well.
Focus on live and IRL experiences. To get in front of Gen-Alpha audiences, small live shows, pop-ups and other IRL events are only going to become even more important. Think of ways for making them accessible to young fans – whether it’s the time of day, price, venue etc.
For more on world building, opportunities in physical, investing in virtual communities and more, check out our full Sandbox Guide.
