Following Australia?s ban on children under 16 from using social media platforms, more countries work on similar bills to restrict the access of young people to social media without parental consent, as the support for banning children from such apps has recently been on the rise, according to reports.

Italy, Spain, some US states, and South Korea are working on bills to restrict young people?s access to platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube.

Researcher Ipsos? ?Education Monitor 2025? survey found that 71% of global participants support banning social media use for children under the age of 14.

Respondents from Indonesia, France, Spain, and Colombia had particularly high support rates at 87%, 85%, 84%, 82%, and 80%, respectively.

Some 76% of participants from T?rkiye said they support the child social media ban, coming in 11th in a rank among other countries.

Some 55% of participants worldwide support the ban on smartphones in schools, with France leading with an 80% support rate, followed by Ireland with 70%, Spain with 69%, Italy with 67%, and Peru with 65%, while in T?rkiye, only 53% of participants think smartphones should be banned in schools.

Survey participants were divided on artificial intelligence (AI), such as the use of ChatGPT or similar AI-powered chatbots by children in school environments. Some 37% of the participants say AI should be banned in schools, while 38% disagree.

Increased social media use among young people may be linked to the rising depression and anxiety cases, according to the ?Social Media and Youth Mental Health? report by the US Surgeon General?s Advisory in 2023.

?Adolescents, ages 10 to 19, are undergoing a highly sensitive period of brain development,? it said. ?Frequent social media use may be associated with distinct changes in the developing brain in the amygdala (important for emotional learning and behavior) and the prefrontal cortex (important for impulse control, emotional regulation, and moderating social behavior), and could increase.?

The report noted that there are potential benefits to using social media for children and adolescents, such as ?the ability to form and maintain friendships online and develop social connections.?

?These relationships can afford opportunities to have positive interactions with more diverse peer groups than are available to them offline and can provide important social support to youth,? it added.

A report by the University of California, San Francisco, published in May found that, after observing around 12,000 children over three years, symptoms of depression increased among 9- to 10-year-olds as social media usage rose. (Anadolu Agency)

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