Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have set a policy template for other States to follow in tackling social media addiction among children

Reasonable restrictions on social media access are an idea whose time has come. Nations need to start honest conversations on how to curb the harmful effects of digital addiction, particularly among teenagers and young adults. For policymakers in a country like India, this new-age affliction presents a complex challenge with no legal compass to guide them. Now, two politically divergent southern States —Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka — have taken the lead and set a policy template for others to follow. They have announced plans to ban social media use for children below the age of 16, citing concerns over digital addiction, mental health and cyberbullying. Generally, a blanket ban on any social practice is not desirable and, in some cases, could prove counterproductive. However, there is a strong case for raising guardrails to protect children from becoming victims of screen addiction and cybercrime. The exponentially growing social media is like a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the penetration of the internet and smartphones has democratised the flow of information; on the other, it has spawned a dangerous trend of spreading cyber offences. Cyberbullying, digital addiction and mental illness are the worst nightmares for parents of teenage children. Safeguarding their kids from the potential harms of social media platforms is one of the biggest challenges parents face today. “Where and how to draw the line?” is the typical dilemma for present- day parents, fretting over their wards fiddling with mobile phones all the time.

Underage children constantly glued to their mobile screens — sucked into the algorithm-driven platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X and YouTube — run the risk of becoming disconnected from the real world and socially awkward. Moreover, the online world is a minefield of dangerous allurement. At a time when social media has become an integral part of our lives, parents around the world constantly worry about how to shield their children from the risks associated with these platforms until they are mature enough to navigate them responsibly. Australia has become the first country in the world to come up with a solution, though a radical one. It has passed a law banning access to social media platforms for children under 16 years. The new federal law, which came into effect in December last year, is the most sweeping measure to date aimed at shielding young people from the potential harms of social media platforms. It puts the onus on social media companies to prevent children from accessing their platforms. In the Indian context, it is a challenging task for the government to formulate an institutional mechanism to regulate social media in a manner that strikes a healthy balance between the imperatives of national security and social order, and the need to protect citizens’ privacy, particularly the safety of children.