Meet the Australian teen influencers with thousands of followers. In December, they'll lose it all.

Thanks to our brand partner, Optus

14-year-old Ella Lucia is just like any other Australian teenager. She goes to school, spends time with her friends and loves her hobbies (in her case, dance).

But there's one key difference. Ella has hundreds of thousands, sometimes even millions, of eyes on her.

Ella is a teen content creator with more than 29,000 adoring fans following her dance and relatable content. Her most-watched video? Trying a blonde filter, which reached 15.9 million people.

Zoey, 14, has more than 36,000 followers tuning in for her 'get ready with me' videos and advice chats. The comments speak for themselves:

"I love your videos."

"YES QUEEN AHHH UR SO PRETTY XX."

Come December 10, Ella and Zoey will be among the Australian teens set to lose access to their social media platforms.

Watch a snippet of one of Zoey's 'get ready with me' videos. Post continues below.

In a world-first move, social media platforms will have to take "reasonable steps" to prevent Australians under the age of 16 from creating or keeping an account.

The government says the decision aims to protect children from pressures and risks they can be exposed to online.

And it's hard to argue the risk isn't real. The rationale behind the ban comes directly from experts concerned about rising youth mental health issues, predatory online behaviour and the non-stop exposure to harmful content and unattainable beauty standards. For the government, the potential dangers of a digitally native childhood are simply too high.

But for teen creators like Ella and Zoey, this isn't protection — it's the termination of their emerging careers.

Ella has more than 29,000 on social media. Image: Supplied/Ella Lucia.

How will the social media ban work?

For months, the details have been light. But last week, a key parliamentary hearing finally offered some concrete answers on how the ban will actually be enforced.

On Tuesday, Meta (which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads), TikTok and Snapchat confirmed that despite opposing the law, they will comply.

The social media giants argue the restrictions will push young people to "darker corners" of the internet that are poorly monitored, as well as deprive them of social contact.

Companies are still working on exactly how they'll enforce the ban. Here is what we do know so far.

The platforms will begin disabling or deleting accounts for under-16s on December 10, 2025. It's expected to affect roughly 1.5 million accounts.

Watch: Ella shares her frustrations with the social media ban. Post continues below.

@_ellaluciaandana_ What are your opinions on the ban? #repost #socialmediaban #australiansocialmediaban #viral #fyp ♬ original sound - ELLA + MUM

Meta said it will give its users a choice between deleting their photos and data or storing it until they turn 16, per Reuters.

TikTok and Snapchat both confirmed they will take similar steps to allow users to archive or download their data before accounts are locked.

Meta Australia and New Zealand policy director Mia Garlick said the company will use a third-party provider, Yoti. This will give users the option of an age-estimation approach via a video selfie or by providing government identification.

TikTok also said it would use additional measures, including automated behaviour-tracking software, to verify a user's age and catch those who misrepresent it.

Some messaging apps, such as Messenger Kids and WhatsApp, won't be included in the ban.

Social media companies face fines of up to $49.5 million if they don't comply, but there will be no penalties for young people or their families if an under-16 manages to access a platform.

Listen to more on the social media ban on The Quicky. Post continues below.

What are the teens saying?

The message from the teens is clear: you can try to ban us, but we'll find away around it.

For young creators like Ella and Zoey, the ban isn't just about losing a fun app, it's about having a creative outlet, an emerging career and a vital community suddenly ripped away.

For Ella, who's building a platform she hopes will launch an acting and performing career, the thought of losing her account is less about the numbers and more about her future.

"It's not my following that's my reason I do it," she said. "It's because I enjoy it and I want to make a name for myself in the future."

Ella's hopeful her mum, Ana, can take over the official running of her account to "cooperate with it, within the law."

Even if that is an option, she knows that her audience will drop once the ban comes into place, but she's far from worried.

"I think everyone will find a way to hop back on," Ella said.

Ella's calling for better education over a blanket ban. Image: Supplied/Ella Lucia.

Pay cheques and personal loss.

This isn't just a fun side project — for some teens, their social media following is their income stream.

Both Ella and Zoey earn money from brand partnerships.

Meanwhile, 12-year-old Ava, who has almost 12,000 followers, earns an income through subscribers and her own clothing line.

Her mum, Zoe, is already facing the financial reality.

"If her account is completely shut down, she's got 100 per cent decline on her sales and her income," she told Mamamia.

Zoe noted that since Ava is busy with cheerleading every night, social media is her way to "express something that she enjoys… while earning an income."

Beyond the income, the girls say the platforms are a crucial part of their lives and identities.

Zoey, who hopes to continue down the influencing path, has leveraged her platform into a real-world network.

"I've made so many lovely friends on social media… I've been building connections with a lot of brands… Now, that's just being taken away," she said.

As an online school student, Zoey argued the ban feels like "digital exclusion because it's excluding us from the rest of the world."

Ella agreed, saying there are "just so, so many benefits" to being online.

"I've learned a lot from social media. It's such a great space for people's self-expression, even if they're not a content creator, they can see there are other people like them or who like the same things."

Parents weigh in.

The government's position is that the known negatives of social media outweigh these benefits. The parents of these young creators, who monitor their content and comments, have a different view.

Ava's mum, Zoe, stressed that adults need to understand how the next generation actually communicates.

"They don't ask for a new friend's email address or their phone number. They ask them for their Snapchat code. That's how they communicate," she said.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ava Chanel (@littlemiss_avachanel.official)

Ella's mum Ana, fears the ban will disproportionately affect the wrong teens.

"We totally understand [the government is coming] from a good place that they want to do the right thing, but it's just not the right way," she said.

"I think my main concern is the kids will actually potentially lose their accounts, are the kids that are actually using [social media] for a creative outlet, for community, for learning.

"The ones who are just scrolling and looking for things, they are still going to find a way around it."

Ana and Ella. Image: Supplied.

Plans to 'get around it'.

Between the teens Mamamia spoke to and the countless others online, one thing is clear: teens plan to keep using social media.

Ella said her friends were "all finding ways to get around it."

"No one's even worried about it because they know that they have a way around it," Ella said.

But this is the key sticking point: by using VPNs or older siblings' accounts, teens are essentially stripping away the very limited safety and privacy settings designed for minors, potentially exposing them to a less filtered, more adult version of the internet.

Zoey argues this makes the ban counterproductive.

"Banning it is not going to do anything," she said. "We're going to find ways around it. So, do something that's actually going to work."

Ella echoed this sentiment.

"That's probably going to bring them towards a more harmful side of social media," she said.

Zoey says teens are already talking about how to get around the ban. Image: Supplied.

A new solution.

While Ella hasn't personally seen much online harm, this isn't the case for everyone. Data consistently shows that many young Australians are exposed to cyberbullying, harmful content and unsolicited contact, often in ways they don't recognise or report.

The girls agree social media needs to be safer for young people, but say completely removing them from the equation isn't the right solution.

Instead, they want to see a safety-first approach.

Zoey's suggested solution? Mandatory parent accounts.

"I think that what should happen is a parent account has to be in charge of the child's one," she suggested. "That way, we still get to keep it but our parents get to make sure that we're being safe on it."

Meanwhile, Ella suggested focusing on education.

"We need to be taught how to deal with that, because a little speech in school about it that they do in front of everyone isn't intriguing anyone. They need to do it in ways that we respond to and relate to understand."

Feature image: Supplied.

Optus is helping families navigate a changing online world with the Optus Digital Thumbprint program supporting young people and families to achieve, thrive and belong in today's digital world. The program supports digital safety and wellbeing through free, curriculum-aligned in-school workshops and a range of resources for use at home.