Parents, teens weigh social media limits as experts warn of addictive design
Great Britain announced in June a ban on social media use for those under the age of 16. Australia also passed a law barring children under the age of 16 from accessing major social media platforms. We look at the impact of social media on children and teenagers, and talk with a parent and a teenager about social media use.
Anna Kennedy, executive director of the Touchstone Foundation, said young people are using social media to connect with friends, find news, and look for information, but that it is not always a safe place. She said social media can affect brain development, learning, and reading comprehension, and that the apps are designed to be addictive.
She also emphasized that, with the right safety measures, social media can still be a place to connect. Her advice to parents was to ask open-ended questions, let young people help lead the conversation, and help them understand who and what they can trust online.
Kennedy said a recent youth survey showed a high percentage of young people spending more than four hours a day on social media. She said it is difficult for parents to take something away once children already have access, and she believes limits should be combined with pressure on tech companies to better protect young users.
She also said Touchstone is trying to create in-person spaces where young people can build connection, practice soft skills, and feel safe asking questions about social media and mental health.
Teaching kids to think critically online
Judy Keller, a technology training consultant in the Penn Manor School District and a 2024 Google Innovator, said she does not think a social media ban for kids under 16 is a bad idea because many children are not ready to handle it. She said they need stronger critical thinking skills to judge whether something online is real or fake.
Keller said parents need to be more intentional about engaging their children away from screens. She suggested a family “jar” filled with non-digital activities to encourage regular breaks from devices. While she acknowledged that kids may find ways around restrictions, she said a ban could still reduce pressure for some children.
Keller also described a digital literacy game she created for first- and second-grade students to help them decide whether images are real or fake. The detective-style game has been played nearly 20,000 times and was shaped by feedback from Penn Manor students. She said the game is available at digitalsmartkids.com, along with parent resources and other games being developed for kindergarten through sixth grade.
She added that social media is addictive in part because algorithms keep feeding users content they want to watch, and she said children need to learn that early.
A family approach to limits
Kristy Aurand’s daughter Kylar is 14. Kristy said she and Kylar’s father have strong feelings about social media and decided there are too many downsides and not enough upsides for Kylar to have full access right now. She pointed to online bullying, body image pressures, filters, and the constant stream of unrealistic perfection that can affect young people’s development.
Kylar has an iPhone and said her main platforms are YouTube and Locket, but she does not have Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, or X. She said the restrictions sometimes cause FOMO (fear of missing out), especially because many of her friends use social media, but she also said she has seen friends deal with problems online that she avoids because she is not on those apps.
At first, Kylar said she pushed back on the restrictions, but now she usually does not ask anymore.
Kristy said the family originally wanted to delay phones until age 16, but Kylar needed a way to contact them. She said parents in her generation are trying to figure things out without having had social media themselves growing up.
Kylar said some friends pressure her to convince her parents to allow more apps, but she also feels more connected to friends who do not use social media. She said one friend once had 12 hours of screen time in a day, and she believes that social media use affects sleep.
Her mother agreed, saying Kylar can spend three hours scrolling YouTube and that she needs downtime because she is busy with competitive cheer, band, and school.
Addictive designs
Kylar said the addictive design of social platforms is a major concern because they feed users more of what they already watch.
Kristy said any future access to apps will come with close parental oversight. She also said she would be comfortable with a ban until 16 and noted that some countries already have strong research supporting that approach.
