Banning under-15s from major social platforms would help protect mental health and safety during a critical stage of development. Research consistently links heavy social media use in young teens to higher rates of anxiety, depression, sleep disruption, and low self-esteem, largely driven by comparison culture, algorithmic pressure, and constant validation seeking. Younger users are also more vulnerable to online harms such as cyberbullying, grooming, exposure to inappropriate content, and data exploitation. Limiting access until mid-adolescence gives children more time to develop emotional resilience, digital literacy, and offline social skills before navigating platforms designed to maximize engagement rather than wellbeing.
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Yes — under-15s should be banned from major social media platforms. These apps are engineered to hijack attention, amplify comparison, and expose kids to content their brains aren’t built to handle yet. We don’t let children drink, drive, or gamble because their judgment is still developing — so why do we give them 24/7 access to algorithm-driven validation machines? Protecting kids’ mental health should come before tech companies’ profits.