Australian content creators feel sting of losing young fans to social media ban

By Christine ‌Chen

SYDNEY, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Australian content creators are reporting drops in followers and views a day after the country imposed ‍a sweeping ‌teen social media ban, posing risks for incomes and forcing rethinks of content strategies.

Josh Partington, 29, typically gets 100,000 views ⁠on his TikToks, where he makes comedy skits about ‌everyday life in Australia. But his first video since the ban started on Wednesday has barely reached one-tenth of that.

"Both my TikTok and Instagram videos from yesterday underperformed pretty noticeably," he said. "They both landed under 10,000 views which is very unusual for me."

Australia has ordered 10 of ⁠the biggest platforms including TikTok, Meta's Instagram and Alphabet's YouTube to bar around one million users under 16 or face hefty fines.

As many teenagers grapple with ​a new reality without social media, content creators who spent years cultivating their ‌followings are also feeling the effects of losing their ⁠most active audience members.

Follower counts primarily on Instagram have dropped, creators told Reuters, while engagement patterns – likes, comments and views – have also changed.

If the trend continues, that could spell trouble in an industry where metrics are a chief determinant of ​revenue from brand deals and advertisers.

Others have also created accounts on alternative platforms that are not yet covered by the ban, or set up mailing lists to keep in touch with their young followers.

Partington, who has a combined 100,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram, said the ban wiped about 1,500 Instagram followers. If TikTok went the same way, "it is definitely ​a bit scary," ‍he said.

"A lot of my audience ​under 16 is incredibly engaged and they’re a big part of why my videos land the way they do."

He said losing followers could impact the work he does with brands and his income, but he was not panicking yet. "While it’s not ideal, I’m confident I can adjust and still keep building my platforms."

Comedian Mitch Dale, 30, said that while most of his 200,000 followers were adults, losing his younger fans would reduce his initial engagement levels and make him rethink his content posting schedules.

"I've always ⁠aimed to post outside of school hours on TikTok, 3.30 p.m. in the afternoon when kids have been getting home and getting on their phones. So that might be something ​that I'll reconsider," he said.

Indie musician Harry Kirby, 18, has more than 180,000 social media followers. He said a "good part" of them were under 16 and he had lost 1,000 on Instagram so far.

"They just vanished," he said. "It genuinely sucks to lose direct connection with any fans."

The government has said some 200,000 accounts have been ‌deactivated on TikTok alone since the ban went live.

The internet regulator will be asking all affected platforms to report how many under-16 accounts were still active, Communications Minister Anika Wells said on Thursday.

(Reporting by Christine Chen in Sydney; Editing by Stephen Coates)