Harmful Effects of Social Media on Children

The injudicious use of social media can have undesirable, harmful, or even fatal effects on children. Before the advent of social media, the human race had done well for itself. It goes without saying that our children can continue to thrive without exposing their impressionable minds to these risks.  

This petition is an attempt to convince the Government of India to ban access to social media for children up to 16 years of age. The risks of use of social media can be complex, unquantifiable, and even unforeseen.

• Mental health:

  • Children who spend too much time on social media may experience anxiety, stress, and depression. Constant comparison with others can lower self-esteem, as children may feel pressured to look or behave like influencers or peers they see online.

    • “What’s more, the social media algorithms are built to promote whatever you seem interested in,” says Dr. Linda Mayes, MD, Chair of the Yale Child Study Center (YCSC). “If a teen searches for any kind of mental health condition, such as depression or suicide, it's going to feed them information about those things, so soon they may begin to think that everyone around them is depressed or thinking about suicide, which is not necessarily good for mental health.” - How Social Media Affects Your Teen’s Mental Health: A Parent’s Guide by Kathy Katella, 17 June’24

• Addiction and reduced attention span: Social media platforms are designed to be engaging, which can lead children to spend long hours scrolling instead of focusing on studies, hobbies, or physical activities. This can affect academic performance and concentration.

  • “Frequent exposure to rapid, fragmented content on platforms like TikTok and Snapchat overstimulates cognitive processes, leading to decreased working memory capacity, impaired cognitive control, and challenges in maintaining focus.”  Poles, A. (2025). Impact of Social Media Usage on Attention Spans. Psychology, 16, 760-772.
• Cyberbullying: Children may face online harassment, teasing, or threats, which can deeply impact their emotional well-being. Unlike traditional bullying, cyberbullying can happen anytime and reach a large audience, making it more harmful.
  • Suicidal ideations, suicide attempts, and self-harm are at higher risk with cyberbullying than with traditional bullying - Traditional bullying and cyberbullying in the digital age and its associated mental health problems in children and adolescents: a meta-analysis (31 December 2022) by Chao Li, Ping Wang, Marina Martin-Moratinos, Marcos Bella-Fernández & Hilario Blasco-Fontecilla.
• Inappropriate content such as violence, harmful challenges, or adult material. This exposure may negatively influence their behaviour, values, and understanding of the world.
• Reduced real-life social skills: Children may prefer virtual interactions over face-to-face communication, which can affect their ability to build healthy relationships and develop empathy.
• Likelihood of being coerced into negative behaviours through viral or repetitive posts:
  • Researchers asked adolescents to undergo fMRI (which measures small changes in blood flow based on brain activity) while looking at photos that could be posted on Instagram. During their fMRI, adolescents are more likely to “Like” or socially endorse a photo that has a higher number of Likes, even if the photo is displaying risk-taking behaviours (e.g., drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes) - Sherman LE, Payton AA, Hernandez LM, Greenfield PM, Dapretto M. The power of the like in adolescence: Effects of peer influence on neural and behavioural responses to social media. Psychological Science. 2016;27(7), 1027–35
• Privacy concerns and the digital footprint: Many children unwittingly post personal details online, which can be exploited maliciously. Also, these platforms often breach kids' privacy by collecting data for marketing, exposing them to further risks.
• Reduced sleep: The addiction to social media leads to increased screen time that in turn affects the sleeping patterns.
  • Researchers found that the use of light emitting electronic devices before bedtime pro-longs the time it takes to fall asleep, delays the circadian clock, suppresses levels of the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin, reduces the amount and delays the timing of REM sleep, and reduces alertness the following morning. Overall, it was found that the use of portable light-emitting devices immediately before bedtime has biological effects that may perpetuate sleep deficiency and disrupt circadian rhythms, both of which can have adverse impacts on performance, health, and safety - Evening use of light-emitting eReaders negatively affects sleep, circadian timing, and next-morning alertness by Anne-Marie Chang, Daniel Aeschbach, Jeanne F. Duffy and Charles A. Czeisler

Below is a summary of what countries are doing to regulate access to social media (Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australia-europe-countries-move-curb-childrens-social-media-access-2026-02-06/

- Australia: A landmark law forced major social media platforms to block minors under 16 years from December 10, 2025.

- Britain: Considering an Australia-style ban on social media.

- China: The cyberspace regulator has put in place a so-called "minor mode" programme that requires device-level restrictions and app-specific rules to restrict screen time depending on age.

- Denmark: Announced in November it would ban social media for children under 15, while parents could provide access to certain platforms to kids down to the age of 13.

- EU Legislation: The European Parliament in November agreed on a resolution which is not legally binding calling for a minimum age of 16 on social media. It urged a harmonised EU digital age limit of 13 for social media access and an age limit of 13 for video-sharing services and "AI companions".

- France: France's National Assembly in January approved legislation to ban children under 15 from social media. The bill needs to pass through the Senate before a final vote in the lower house.

- Germany: Minors aged 13 to 16 are allowed to use social media only if their parents provide consent. But child protection advocates say controls are insufficient.

- Greece: Greece is "very close" to announcing a social media ban for children under 15, a senior government source told Reuters on February 3.

- India: India's chief economic adviser called in January for age restrictions on social media platforms, describing them as "predatory" in how they keep users engaged online, two days after tourist state Goa said it was weighing restrictions akin to Australia's.

- Italy: Children under the age of 14 need parental consent to sign up for social media accounts, while no consent is required above that age.

- Malaysia: Announced in November it would ban social media for users under the age of 16 starting from 2026.

- Norway: The Government in October 2024 proposed raising the age at which children can consent to the terms required to use social media to 15 from 13, although parents would still be permitted to sign off on their behalf if they are under the age limit. The government has also begun work on legislation to set an absolute minimum age limit of 15 for social media use.

- Slovenia: A law is being drafted that would prohibit children under 15 from accessing social media, Deputy PM Matej Arcon said in a news conference on February 6.

- Spain: They will ban access to social media for minors under 16 and platforms will be required to implement age verification systems, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said early in February.

- USA: The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act prevents companies from collecting personal data from children under 13 without parental consent. Several states have passed laws requiring parental consent for minors to access social media, but they have faced court challenges on free speech grounds.