Let’s ban kids from social media, just like Australia did

Andres Oppenheimer

Australia has just passed a sweeping law prohibiting children under 16 from using social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and X, becoming the first major country to do so. It’s time for other nations to follow its steps.

The new law, which passed both chambers of Parliament on Nov. 28, places full responsibility on social media companies, demanding that they make sure that no children under 16 open accounts or use their platforms. Social media firms will be subject to fines of up to $32 million if they fail to comply with the new age restrictions.

“We know social media is doing social harm,” Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese said. “We want Australian children to have a childhood, and we want parents to know that the government is in their corner.”

Other countries, such as France, have passed laws demanding that children get parental consent before they are allowed to open a social media account. However, they do not prohibit children from using social media if their parents consent.

In the United States, Florida passed a state law earlier this year banning children under 14 from creating social media accounts, and mandating companies to close accounts held by children under 14. The Florida law goes into effect Jan. 1, 2025, but is expected to be challenged in the courts.

Similar laws in California, Ohio and Arkansas have been blocked by the courts, often over privacy issues. Critics say most of these state laws requiring parental consent may not be very effective, because many parents may allow their children to create social media accounts.

But the global movement toward regulating kids’ access to social media is bound to grow, no matter how hard tech moguls like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg fight to keep making money at the expense of children’s mental health. There is growing evidence that screen addiction, online bullying and hate content on social media has contributed — if not caused — an epidemic of youth depression across the world.

Jonathan Haidt, the New York University social psychologist who wrote the bestseller “The Anxious Generation,” says parents should hold off on giving smart phones to their children until age 14, and bar them from using social media until 16.

Youth depression, anxiety and even suicide have skyrocketed in most countries since children began using smart phones and started sharing pictures on social media after 2012, Haidt said.

“I argue that children need to develop first in the real world before we let them move their lives into the virtual world,” Haidt told me. “We don’t want them to grow up on TikTok. We want them to grow up playing with each other.”

Girls have been especially hurt by early access to social media. If you are an insecure teen-aged girl and your pictures don’t get any “likes” on Instagram, while your classmates get many “likes,” you are bound to feel bad. And if your classmates make fun of you, or bully you, it’s even worse, he explained.

When I asked Haidt whether it would be hard or not to ban social media for children, when they see their parents using those platforms constantly, he said he doesn’t see that as much of a problem. After all, we set age limits for alcohol consumption, and movies.

Haidt said, “It is completely inappropriate to be putting children in contact with strangers all over the world with no identity verification, no age limits. This is insanity.” And the same goes for letting children access social media that may show beheading videos, or hardcore pornography, he added.

Granted, skeptics argue that many children will find a way around any law to prevent them from getting onto social media platforms. That’s why Australia has chosen to put pressure on tech companies, rather than on children and their families, to enforce the law.

“We know some kids will find workarounds, but we’re sending a message to social media companies to clean up their act,” the Australian prime minister said.

Well said! It’s time to follow Australia’s steps, and stand up to irresponsible social media tycoons who are making billions by allowing content that contributes to all kinds of children’s mental health problems.

Let’s face it — these tech moguls have shown that they can’t be trusted with self-regulation. It’s time to stop them from profiting at the expense of children’s mental health. Australia’s new law should be a wake-up call for the rest of the world.