Love Island star Matt Zukowski backs social media ban for under 16s

Matt Zukowski has detailed what it was like being targeted on social media amid his marriage breakdown with Tammy Hembrow, as he throws his support behind the incoming ban for teens.

Matt Zukowski has spoken out in support of the social media ban for teens. Picture: Instagram

Matt Zukowski, who starred on Love Island and hosts the Where’s Your Head At podcast, has more than 128,000 Instagram followers.

The 30-year-old uses his platform to raise awareness around mental health and male infertility.

Earlier this year he hit the headlines when he split from influencer wife Tammy Hembrow.

Here he explains why he supports the incoming social media ban for under 16s, which the government is introducing after News Corp’s successful Let Them Be Kids campaign:

I think it would be good to keep teens off social media for as long as possible.

I honestly can’t imagine being a teenager on social media the way it is now — it would be a very confusing place.

Matt Zukowski. Picture: Instagram

I used MSN Messenger from primary school, probably got MySpace in year seven, and then I started using Facebook.

I’d get off MSN and I’d just log on to my Xbox and be talking to people playing Call of Duty or something.

There was more fear around the internet back then, but limited education and understanding.

I didn’t have bad experiences, but when you think about it now as an adult, it’s a pretty dangerous place for a teenager to be.

Now through my platform I’ve been able to bring awareness to mental health and male infertility, but you are very exposed.

I truly believe that one of the biggest misconceptions from an everyday viewer of people online is that their lives are perfect.

I think that obviously Instagram, and TikTok to an extent, it is putting your best foot forward.

And there is a whole world behind that camera that people don’t realise.

A lot of people get influenced by these people online to think that they’re this perfect person and have this perfect life.

And it’s not the case at all.

Matt Zukowski and ex-wife Tammy Hembrow

People feel like they’re entitled to comment on your life when you live such a public life and are in a public relationship.

Earlier this year, the misconception of what was happening in my personal life was tough to deal with.

I was seeing so many comments and messages and I just had to sit there knowing the truth, thinking “this is rough”.

But they’re just people that don’t know me, and they’ve just painted a picture from what they’ve seen and what they’ve read.

You’re not going to change their opinion on that by getting into a comment war.

I took a break from social media at the start of this year when I was trying to make some decisions with my life.

I took a couple of weeks off posting.

As much as I could step back from that I did, and I think it was a healthy decision — it cleared my mind a little.

Originally published as Love Island star Matt Zukowski backs social media ban for under 16s