Sydney: Following Australia’s ban on children under 16 from using social media platforms, more countries are working on similar bills to restrict the access of young people to social media without parental consent, as support for banning children from such apps has recently been on the rise, according to reports.

According to Philippines News Agency, Italy, Spain, some US states, and South Korea are working on bills to restrict young people’s access to platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube. Researcher Ipsos’ ‘Education Monitor 2025’ survey found that 71 percent of global participants support banning social media use for children under the age of 14. Respondents from Indonesia, France, Spain, and Colombia had particularly high support rates at 87, 85, 84, and 82 percent, respectively.

Some 76 percent of participants from Trkiye said they support the child social media ban, coming in 11th in a rank among other countries. Additionally, 55 percent of participants worldwide support the ban on smartphones in schools, with France leading with an 80 percent support rate, followed by Ireland with 70 percent, Spain with 69 percent, Italy with 67 percent, and Peru with 65 percent. In Trkiye, only 53 percent of participants think smartphones should be banned in schools.

Increased social media use among young people may be linked to the rising depression and anxiety cases, according to the ‘Social Media and Youth Mental Health’ report by the US Surgeon General’s Advisory in 2023. A report by the University of California, San Francisco, published in May found that, after observing around 12,000 children over three years, symptoms of depression increased among 9- to 10-year-olds as social media usage rose.