A growing number of countries around the world are enacting bans or restrictions on the use of social media apps by children.

The UK has just announced its own plan to join the list, with a comprehensive ban set to be introduced early next year …

Academic studies have long demonstrated clear links between social media usage and declining teenage mental health. Back in 2024, a meta analysis concluded that there was no longer any doubt about a causal link.

A lot of new work has been published since 2019, and there has been a recent and surprising convergence among the leading opponents in the debate […] There is now a great deal of evidence that social media is a substantial cause, not just a tiny correlate, of depression and anxiety, and therefore of behaviors related to depression and anxiety, including self-harm and suicide.

Australia was the first country in the world to ban under-16s from using social media, but far from the last. Since then, countries which have either passed legislation or have agreed in principle to introduce bans is a lengthy list:

• Austria
• Denmark
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Malaysia
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Slovenia
• South Korea
• Spain
• UAE
• Vietnam

France has also proposed an EU-wide ban.

UK now joins the list

BBC News reports that the British government has announced it will be introducing a social media ban for under-16s early next year.

The ban will cover platforms including Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X, the government said. A complete list of which platforms the ban will apply to has not been released. However, the government said it would cover those “whose purpose is to enable social interaction and which allow users to post material”. Features including livestreaming and strangers being able to contact children will also be restricted.

The government said it did not intend to include messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal in the social media ban.

The government is also considering the possibility of overnight curfews and breaks in infinite scrolling for those under 18.

9to5Mac readers support a US ban

A similar ban has also been proposed in the US. A 9to5Mac reader survey back in 2024 showed overwhelming support for this – with 70% of readers saying that under-16s should “absolutely” be banned from using social media apps, and a further 17% thinking this should “probably” be the case.

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