Australia’s bold move to ban social media for children under 16 has reignited a fierce global debate about the digital world. As the UK and other countries consider similar measures, with politicians, parents, teachers and mental-health experts offering sharply different views, the conversation has largely centred on regulation, risk and the enforcement of age limits on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat. But this discussion needs to widen. We cannot treat digital exposure as a single problem or government bans as the sole solution. We must confront a much deeper social and cultural reality: how we live together, how we raise our children, and how we shape the next generation.
Governments around the world are closely monitoring the situation. The UK health secretary has already invited experts, including US academic Jonathan Haidt, to brief officials on the proposal.
Supporters of the ban argue that excessive social media use can become addictive and is linked to increased anxiety, disrupted sleep and poorer body image among teens. While these concerns are real, critics counter that outright bans may be ineffective or even counterproductive. Young people surveyed by the UK Parliament’s youth committee argue that a ban is “neither practical nor effective” and that tech companies should instead be held accountable for ensuring online safety.
Even in Australia, where evidence suggests strong public support for a ban, widespread scepticism about its real-world impact remains, with many believing children will simply find ways around restrictions, such as using VPNs or shared accounts.
Amid all the controversy, one key factor often takes a back seat: the role of social media companies themselves.
These platforms are not neutral tools. They are engineered by private companies whose economic incentives depend on keeping attention and engagement as high as possible. Algorithms reward content that triggers strong emotions because it drives longer session times and, in turn, greater advertising revenue. Young minds, still developing impulse control and emotional regulation, are especially vulnerable to these “casino-like” feedback loops.
Although some tech companies publicly promote their “safety” features, internal reporting and investigative coverage paint a more troubling picture of deliberate design choices that prioritise profit over well-being. A half-baked ban without corporate accountability is little more than closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.
A core truth too often overlooked is that healthy digital habits are cultivated at home through active, positive parenting. It is simplistic to talk about “screen time” without acknowledging that many parents themselves are deeply absorbed in their own devices. The home, where values are modelled, attention is given and conversations unfold, must be central to any meaningful solution.
Rather than thinking only in terms of bans or regulation, we need to champion “digital family norms”:
a) Shared device-free times: meals, walks, games and conversations without phones;
b) Joint digital experiences: parents engaging with children, discussing content and helping them interpret it critically;
c) Co-created boundaries: rules about usage that are agreed with teens;
d) Parental digital role-modelling: adults demonstrating that social media is a choice, not the centre of life.
The home, as the first moral and civic space, remains the most powerful influence on a child’s moral compass, emotional resilience and sense of belonging.
Healthy digital habits cannot be legislated into existence. They must be modelled, practised and nurtured within the home, where values are lived before they are taught. Parenting in the digital age is not simply about control; it is about gentle but assertive guidance, emotional availability and offering meaningful alternatives to screens: conversation, play, service, faith, culture and community.
Communities and schools have a crucial role to play. Digital literacy must go beyond “how to use apps” and include an understanding of how misinformation, identity pressures and addictive design features affect the brain. These are not fringe concerns; they are foundational to participating in the contemporary world. Meaningful reform should integrate schools’ digital programmes with family and community efforts, ensuring that young people and the adults guiding them develop critical thinking alongside emotional resilience.
Research consistently shows that anxiety, low self-esteem and harmful online behaviour are often intensified by offline pressures: poverty, academic stress, social exclusion or family instability. When family discipline is weak, screens tend to fill the vacuum. Without strengthening families, communities and wider support systems, restrictions alone may risk merely displacing the problem rather than resolving it.
So, what should policymakers, tech companies and families do?
a) For policymakers: Hold tech companies to standards of algorithmic transparency and safety; embed digital citizenship education in national curricula; and support research that centres young people’s voices rather than adult anxieties.
b) For tech companies: Balance platforms to minimise addictive patterns and prioritise children’s well-being; provide genuine age-appropriate experiences with robust safety tools; and support independent oversight alongside community-driven content standards.
c) For parents and guardians: Lead by example and use digital tools mindfully; cultivate home environments rich in connection, presence and open dialogue; and help teens develop self-regulation and critical thinking.
The rise of social media presents real challenges for children’s mental health, attention and sense of belonging. But no country or society, can address these issues with a single law or device filter. The real work lies in building lives worth living: compassionate homes, reflective communities and a digital world shaped by human values rather than shareholder returns. This is not only about keeping children safe; it is about raising better humans and worthy citizens in a time of unprecedented technological change.
What unites parents everywhere is a shared aspiration: to raise children who are grounded, compassionate and capable of contributing to society. Meeting that aspiration requires a collective rebalancing of responsibility.
Governments must regulate with courage. Tech companies must redesign with conscience. Schools must educate for wisdom. And families, across cultures, must reclaim their role as the primary space where attention, character and citizenship are formed.
The question is not simply whether children should be banned from social media. It is whether we are willing to shape a digital world and domestic lives worthy of the next generation.
