It’s an understandable instinct to do something — anything — to protect young people from dangers lurking online. Yet the government will never protect children better than their parents can.
Indonesia is set to become the second country to outright ban children under 16 from using major social media platforms. Australia imposed similar restrictions last year, and laws banning social media for kids are advancing across Europe.
Parts of the United States have joined the trend. Virginia wants to limit children under 16 to one hour a day on social media, and Florida requires certain platforms to verify user ages. The future of both laws will be decided by federal courts.
The biggest problem with wholesale social media bans for children is that they don’t work. The Australian experiment is now three months old, and the early results aren’t encouraging. Kids have easily figured out how to download their old apps, setting up new accounts using fake ages and an adult-looking face.
By inevitably being so easy to circumvent, bans encourage lawbreaking. If kids know something is illegal but everyone does it anyway, they can develop an unhealthy disregard for other sensible but unpopular statutes.
Everyone intuitively understands that too much time online is not healthy for kids. Anecdotally, social media use has been associated with depression, body negativity, bullying and self-harm. But children mature at different rates. One 14-year-old might be well-prepared to deal with harmful content online, or know how to turn it off, while another might be more susceptible.
Social media can also be beneficial. It allows kids to form and join communities of their peers with similar interests and hobbies. This is especially true for those who live in remote areas or feel isolated in general.
“Using social media is not inherently beneficial or harmful to young people,” the American Psychological Association concluded in 2023. Its report said the effect on children largely depends on “pre-existing strengths or vulnerabilities, and the contexts in which they grow up.”
The various bans risk becoming obsolete even before they are enacted because of the growing prevalence of artificial intelligence being embedded into search engines. AI comes with different, and potentially even more harmful, risks to kids. Rather than block access, the better approach is to teach them how to use tools properly.
Social platforms continue to improve parental controls, content filters and time limits. Schools can improve digital literacy. Ultimately, though, moms and dads will always know their children better than bureaucrats.
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