Australia Has Moved to Ban Social Media for Teens - Here’s Why It Could Transform EQ (and Where It Could Backfire)
- evie pagliarulo
- 27 minutes ago
- 3 min read
The news about Australia's social media ban for under-16s has created predictable outrage - but also an important moment to reflect on something deeper:
What is constant digital stimulation doing to our emotional intelligence?
As someone who works in EQ, performance psychology and nervous-system based coaching, here’s my take - both the upside and the critical blind spots.
🌱 The EQ Upside: What a Social Media Ban Could Support
1. Reduced Comparison = Better Self-Identity
One of the biggest EQ blockers I see in clients - teenagers and adults - is the unconscious comparison loop.Social media primes the nervous system to constantly evaluate:
“Am I enough?” "Do I measure up?” "Should I be doing more?”
Reducing that noise gives younger minds a chance to form identity internally, not through digital validation.
2. More Emotional Capacity, Less Cognitive Overload
EQ requires space: Space to feel, to process, to think, to pause.
Constant scrolling keeps the nervous system in a low-level state of agitation - micro-dopamine hits with zero recovery time. Removing that stimulant can restore emotional regulation in ways most people won’t realise until it’s gone.
3. Stronger Real-World Social Skills
Digital communication lets you edit, retry, rehearse. Real life doesn’t.
Face-to-face interaction builds:
resilience
confidence
the ability to read tone, nuance, expression
conflict navigation
These are core EQ muscles - and they weaken with lack of use.
⚠️ The Downside: Where This Could Hurt EQ Instead of Helping It..
1. Banning Doesn’t Build Internal Regulation
Removing the stimulus doesn’t teach emotional mastery. It simply removes the trigger.
The skill young people desperately need is: “How do I handle this when it appears?” Because social media isn’t going away globally.
Without education, a ban only creates a delay - not resilience.
2. It Risks Creating the Forbidden Fruit Effect
When something becomes “off limits,” curiosity spikes. The emotional charge increases, not decreases.
If not paired with emotional education, it may:
heighten compulsive behaviour later
increase secrecy
reduce open dialogue about online experiences and risks
3. It Won’t Fix the Root Issue: Adults Also Model Dysregulated Digital Behaviour
Teenagers aren’t the only ones addicted to scroll cycles. Many of my corporate clients struggle with:
compulsive checking
dopamine dependency
inability to switch off
sleep disruption
constant comparison
digital distraction replacing emotional presence
If adults can’t model regulation, restrictions alone won’t work.
💡 So, Does This Ban Actually Support EQ?
Yes - but only partially.
It supports EQ by removing overstimulation temporarily. But EQ mastery doesn’t come from eliminating triggers. It comes from building the internal capacity to navigate them with clarity, choice, and confidence.
That’s where the real work lies - and where I spend most of my time with clients.
✨ My Take as an EQ & Leadership Coach
If this policy does anything, I hope it sparks a bigger conversation:
Not about censorship.Not about control. But about the emotional health and nervous system literacy of an entire generation - and the adults leading them.
Whether you're a parent, a leader, or simply someone who spends too much time scrolling…
Your relationship with your emotional world is the real algorithm.
Final thought:
A ban may reduce the noise.But it’s EQ that teaches you how to hear yourself again.
If you're looking to increase your leadership presence, improve communication and team dynamics or working on improving personal or professional relationships - let's chat: info@growthcollective.uk
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