India Plans to Ban Children from Using Social Media

In India, an initiative to restrict social media use for children under the age of 16 has become a subject of intense debate. Representatives of the federal government and ministers from several states have begun studying the necessary legislative framework, drawing on the experiences of Australia and France, reports the BBC.

Australia recently became the first country in the world to officially ban those under 16 from using social media. This trend has now reached India. A recent Economic Survey document, prepared by India's Chief Economic Adviser, recommended that the federal government consider introducing age-based restrictions for children.

Ministers from the states of Andhra Pradesh and Goa announced that special committees have been established to study the effectiveness of such a ban. Nara Lokesh, the Minister for Information Technology in Andhra Pradesh, emphasized that social media has a detrimental impact on children's attention spans, education, and overall safety.

However, experts warn that implementing such a ban in a country as large as India presents several difficulties:

• Age Verification: Social media platforms would need to verify the exact age of every user, a process that is technically highly complex.
• Geographical Constraints: Implementing a ban at the state level is difficult. If one state imposes a ban while a neighboring state does not, accurately identifying boundaries via IP addresses remains nearly impossible.
• Workarounds: Even in Australia, children have learned to bypass restrictions by providing false birth dates.

Many experts and parents argue that the issue is not just about the ban itself. Research in India shows that many children's accounts are actually created by their parents.

Jitender Yadav, a resident of Delhi, shared his perspective:

"The main problem is that parents do not spend enough time with their children. It is easier to hand over a phone than to engage with the child. If parents do not spend quality time with their kids, children will always find a way to bypass any ban."

Currently, the state of Karnataka, in partnership with Meta, has launched a "digital detox" program for 300,000 students and 100,000 teachers. This is being considered an alternative approach—teaching responsible social media use rather than relying solely on a ban.