BRB: Bengalureans on Australia's social media ban for children under 16
When social media came onto the world stage, it was met with excitement at the possibility that technology could connect people across the globe. Decades later, as we start to see the wear that constant connectivity has on mental well-being, especially the harm cyberbullying, exposure to predatory behaviour and the addictiveness of social media causes to young minds, hope has given way to worry and caution. In an unprecedented and likely trend-setting move, Australia took decisive action of banning several social media platforms for children under 16, with failure to comply inviting fines up to $50 million on service providers. While some have hailed the decision, with countries like Denmark, Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, Spain, and others considering their own legislation, others have pointed out that this may push teens into greater harm, emphasising the need for parental controls and platform regulation rather than an outright ban. YouTube has also made its case, pointing out the benefits of being able to freely access edu content for teens on its platform. India lacks cooperation to deal with such operations' -Neha B, School student When I first heard about it, I was stunned because Ive never heard about a government banning social media for teens or taking such positive measures against teens and their social accounts. I feel its a good move, as teens might be facing cyberbullying and grooming. Teens in Western countries are more into social media, so this seems like a step in the right direction. Personally, I text one or another friend daily, so if this gets implemented here too, I would face problems with communication; thats the only issue. However, I dont think it would be possible in India, as the country lacks the cooperation needed to effectively deal with such operations. Need digital literacy too' - Sunitaa K, Life coach I see this as a proactive and protective move. Ive been noticing it influencing the identity, mental health, and attention span of children. Especially in kids as young as four to five, its impacting their listening and social skills and self-worth. It is also essential for children to learn digital literacy. In a tech-conscious city like Bengaluru, its not possible to control social media; people can only educate children to take more responsibility. The way to keep children safe is to have a healthy balance between all four segments parents, schools, tech platforms and the government, to ensure theyre using social media in an age-appropriate way. Will push children into unsafe behaviour - Vineet Kumar, Founder & Global President, CyberPeace Technology-driven ecosystems are complicated and outright bans push children into behaviours like using VPNs and borrowing credentials, thereby reducing the visibility and parental oversight needed to keep them safe. Implementing a similar ban in India would be more challenging. India is home to one of the worlds youngest digital populations, with uneven digital literacy levels among both children and parents. Age verification is challenging, as any system sophisticated enough to prohibit under-16 access would necessitate gathering more personal data, raising privacy and data-security concerns, which India is still navigating under the DPDP Acts early implementation stage. The most realistic course of action would be a hybrid model wherein principles like safety-by-design, age-appropriate design codes, parental control tools by default and digital wellbeing education in schools are integrated. Laws have to be strong -Nidhi Dev, Australia-based clinical psychologist from Bengaluru Banning apps like Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat is good because kids are exposed to people who are much older than them on these apps. I have seen an increase in anxiety and depressive symptoms, with the social comparison that goes on due to social media. Games are not banned despite their addictive nature and rewarding risk-taking behaviours when teenagers impulse control is not fully developed. We have to see how the implementation plays out. For it to be possible in India, laws have to be extremely strong, as here in Australia there are fines and strict consequences when the law is broken. However, I think India already does a good job of limiting social media in most schools. Will make teens distant from one another -Aryaveer Parmar, School student Banning social media would limit teens ability to stay in touch, making them more distant from one another. I dont think it would be possible in India, as the population is much larger as compared to Australia. It would affect me a lot, as I communicate with all my friends and I stay updated about whats happening around the world through social media. Balanced approach is key - Anitha Jaishankar, Teacher Australias social media ban for under-16s aims to protect kids from online harm, but challenges like workarounds and social isolation remain. Indias DPDP rules also enforce a partial ban through parental consent, but issues like digital literacy gaps and large-scale enforcement persist. In India, a ban could help kids focus on studies, but may limit educational resources and cause isolation. While the ban could protect from cyberbullying and excessive screen time, it may also restrict learning and be hard to enforce. A balanced approach is the key with better platform safety, parental guidance and digital literacy education seems more effective. Anitha Jaishankar, Teacher
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