Indians Call for Social Media Ban for Children After Australia's Proposed Restrictions

Australian PM Anthony Albanese has proposed to ban children from using social media as it can have physical and mental implications for them. The centre-left government Australian PM Anthony Albanese has proposed to ban children from using social media as it can have physical and mental implications for them. The centre-left government is planning to introduce an age verification factor over the next few months.

“I want to see kids off their devices and onto the footy fields, swimming pools, and tennis courts. We want them to have real experiences with real people because we know that social media is causing social harm,” Albanese told ABC News.

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This move follows a July directive from Australia’s eSafety regulator, which called on Internet companies to develop a strict, enforceable code to protect children from exposure to pornography and other inappropriate content – or risk having regulations imposed on them.

As Australia proposes restrictions, similar demands are emerging in India. One individual expressed their support on X, writing, “I hope India does it as well and belt treatment to parents who let their children use the phone for long hours. I hardly know any child below the age of 10 who is ready to eat food without watching videos on YouTube.”

Another said that it is the need of the hour.

This X user said that India should ban the use of mobile phones till Class 10.

This Internet user explained how we reached this point of children’s addiction to phones and social media: “And remember folks, we’ve arrived at this point because all the kid’s channels on DTH hiked their prices so much that they cost more than other channels in the pack combined. The Doraemon and Shin Chan era kids were getting too hyper so they banned Shin Chan in India for a while.”

“True, my relatives’ kids literally refuse to eat without watching YouTube,” shared yet another.

“Glad that my daughter is fine in this regard, no mobile phone yet to play games, she has her YouTube time on TV, but means only with family at the Dining area,” shared an X user.

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Another joined, “My 9-year-old gets to have YT only during his mealtime, that too restricted to 15-20 min max & only on TV. Gets no phone from either of the parents and uses his dadi’s phone for games, that too restricted to max 20-30 min post dinner.”

“For this to effectively happen the parents themselves need to use their phones less, because kids always tend to copy/learn habits from parents. So if you read a book in front of them daily that will interest them more,” chimed in a third.