A recent debate has taken the internet by storm as the Australian government proposed a bill to ban social media for children under 16. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has tried to put forward the concerns of many parents and guardians through this legislation. “Social media is doing harm to our kids and I’m calling time on it. I’ve spoken to thousands of parents, grandparents, aunties and uncles. They, like me, are worried sick about the safety of our kids online,” Albanese said. Which social media platforms will Australia ban?

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Prohibited platforms

This proposed legislation, part of a “world-leading” package, is set to become law late next year. According to the Australian Minister of Communications, Michelle Rowland, several social media platforms will face the restrictions. Instagram and Facebook, Elon Musk’s X, and Bytedance’s TikTok will take the onus of preventing access to children under 16.

How will Australia implement the social media ban for kids?

Australia plans to take strict measures to execute this Herculean task of banning social media for children. According to the Australian government, social media platforms will be fined hefty amounts for permitting access to children. Moreover, Australia will run a trial round of an age-verification system. In this, if a child below 16 tries to install the app, they must verify their legal age through biometrics or government identification to proceed further. There will be no exemptions for parents if they allow their underage child to use social media. Similarly, the laws will not spare under-16 users with already active social media accounts if they don’t meet the legal age bracket.

Act your age – a mere phrase

The Australian government’s outright ban on social media for children reflects a great concern for the country’s youth. The excessive usage of Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter has proved to be detrimental instead of being helpful. Apart from the negative impact of consuming unfiltered content, children have also developed an inferiority complex, online addiction, and mental illnesses like depression and anxiety at a tender age because of the picture-perfect lives they see on social media. Additionally, they are prone to cyberbullying and other cyber crimes.

Does India need a similar law?

Social media is polluting young minds everywhere including India. It’s high time the country should strategise to minimise social media usage by kids. However, a complete ban is not the solution. A ban would only delay teenagers’ exposure to the digital world. There are several loopholes in the proposed Australian bill as they underestimate the smartness of this digital age. These restrictions can easily be overcome through hacking and other manipulative tricks. So, is a law banning social media for children really practical for India?

According to a recent national survey, over 60% of Indian teenagers spend more than three hours on social media daily. India should develop a holistic approach to spread awareness of the potential harm social media is causing to its youth. We need efficient parental controls to limit a young citizen’s access to certain types of content. Parents must monitor their children’s activity while they use phones. India needs to create a concrete plan rather than enforce a ban to protect their children from the negative impact of social media.

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