<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Australian teenagers are already switching to new platforms ahead of the government's landmark under-16 social media ban.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Millions of accounts will be closed in just 10 days but the biggest challenge may come after that.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Some students have already shifted to smaller networks not found on the government's banned list.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>EXPLAINER:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/social-media-ban-australia-full-list-of-sites-banned-everything-to-know-explained/b19e9d0f-9a6d-49bd-b5c4-c6a33f98fd0e" rel="" target="" title="Australia's world-first social media ban comes into effect this month. Here is what it will look like"><strong><span>Australia's world-first social media ban comes into effect this month. Here is what it will look like</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We watched what American kids did when TikTok went down - they went to Rednote, they went to Lemon8, which is an Instagram clone," eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>" … some of that is going to happen but that's what teenagers do."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Yope, a photo-sharing app listed as lifestyle in mobile app stores, is rocketing up the charts.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/tiktok-instagram-alternatives-booming-as-australian-kids-switch-before-social-media-ban/a2950b1d-898e-467f-a9e4-744f1807a3ec" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A report from Queensland University of Technology released today found young users wanted social media improved but didn't believe bans were the answer.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Nor did they believe the age restrictions were enforceable.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Any attempt to just shut it off overnight like they're going to do is completely disregarding our kids' intelligence," Victorian Greens Senator Steph Hodgins-May said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Education Minister Jason Clare said if other "equally insidious" platforms arose, MPs would be able to ban them too.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>This would create a whack-a-mole situation with politicians attempting to keep up with tech innovators but Communications Minister Anika Wells insisted the focus would be on apps causing the most harm.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Big tech is agile, innovative and moves quickly, so we must do the same," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We expect the laws to be untidy but that doesn't mean it's not worth doing."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>For now, most of popular apps on the banned list have begun informing users under 16 that their accounts will be shut down in the week ahead.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This needs to be compassionate and kind because it's going to be a huge transition for young people," Inman Grant said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f"><em><strong><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></strong></em></a><em><strong><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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