Problems with a social media ban w/ Te Herenga Mahara's Dr. Ella Cullen: 18th May, 2026

At the end of last year, Australia introduced a ban on social media use for those under the age of 16. While the policy was discussed across the globe in multiple countries, Australia was the first to actually introduce it. 

New Zealand is one of the countries looking into introducing its own social media ban, despite a growing amount of evidence that the bans are ineffective. Young people are not only often resourceful enough to dodge the ban, but often the most significant causes of mental harm and distress run much deeper than just social media content. 

With New Zealand announcing a pause to development of our social media ban policy on Thursday last week, News Director Castor spoke to the Director of Wellbeing, System Leadership, Data, and Insights at Te Herenga Mahara, the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Dr Ella Cullen.