EduMarking says many school playgrounds were not ready
School playgrounds were not equally equipped when Australia’s under-16 social media ban took effect in December 2025, according to EduMarking, which argues that gap helps explain why more than 80% of teenagers still use social media at similar rates to before the ban.
The company pointed to eSafety research published in August 2026, which found the ban had achieved limited success. While much of the policy debate has focused on enforcement, EduMarking argues the physical spaces children were meant to return to were not uniformly ready for active play.
Monash University research has found children in lower socioeconomic areas have less access to quality outdoor recreation infrastructure than children in more affluent neighbourhoods. That difference, EduMarking says, matters because the ban assumed young people had appealing places to spend time away from phones.
ABS data adds another measure of the problem. Children spend 46.6% of break time sedentary on bare asphalt and concrete, according to the figures cited by the company.
Studies link markings to more activity
EduMarking also cited a separate study of marked and unmarked playground surfaces. It found thermoplastic zone markings in primary school playgrounds increased moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and the gain was still measurable 12 months after installation.
Sally Reiter, director of EduMarking, said: “The ban assumed the playground was there and ready. In a lot of schools it is not, at least not in a form that competes with a phone for a 13-year-old’s attention.”
EduMarking describes the issue as structural rather than behavioural alone. Its view is that some schools already have varied yards and equipment, while others offer little more than hard ground, leaving children with fewer options for active break times.
The company operates nationally as a supplier of playground and outdoor services to schools. Its work includes playground line marking, resurfacing, shade structures, seating and outdoor musical instruments.
EduMarking says it has worked with more than 10,000 schools worldwide. It also says most installations are completed within a school holiday period, which can limit disruption to classes.
The company did not provide a figure for how many Australian schools lacked upgraded outdoor spaces when the social media ban began. Still, the figures it cited from eSafety, Monash University and the ABS all point to the same issue: access to usable, engaging school playgrounds is uneven.
