Pro & Contra
Social media ban for the under-16s: will this protect young people, or is it the wrong approach?
Australia has taken the lead, and France is pushing through similar rules. There’s growing debate on the subject in Germany, too. What will really protect young people: a ban on social media or better media skills?
Pro
Youth studies expert Simon Schnetzer studies the reality of young people’s lives and how digital media are influencing their mental health.
Contra
Communication studies expert Elena Frense is responsible for Media and Digital Affairs at the Federal Association of the Child Protection Association.
Ms Frense, Mr Schnetzer: Does Germany need a social media ban for the under-16s?
Yes, definitely! I find the following statement very apt: “We are not banning children from accessing social media, we are banning social media from accessing our children.” A few weeks ago, the German Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry issued a clear statement recommending smartphones from the age of 14 and social media from the age of 16. Media education and regulation are important, but we won’t get anywhere without a ban, possibly only as an intermediate step.
No. A blanket social media ban won’t solve the problem. Of course, Germany’s Child Protection Association also sees the risks to which children are exposed online - everything from addictive algorithms and fake news to online bullying and grooming. However, many of these risks originate not only on social media but also in games and messaging services. The ban in Australia has also revealed how easily such bans can be bypassed.
What’s more important: protecting children against social media or enabling their digital participation?
The dangers posed by social media weigh more heavily. Excluding young people from the digital sphere is only a problem if the lives of their peers primarily take place there.
I have no wish to play one off against the other. Children have a right to protection and to participation. These two rights need to be balanced. Resilience won’t be built by bans, but by providing a safe and parent-supervised environment
Who should now take the lead: the state, the platforms or parents?
The state, first and foremost. Platforms will never voluntarily relinquish the business they generate by attracting the attention of the young generation. That’s why the onus initially is on the state. Parents need to supervise their children’s media consumption and provide a safe and secure environment. Ultimately, the state, educational institutions and parents must all work together.
Everyone. The platforms, the state and parents all have an equal responsibility. Platforms must ensure compliance with laws and regulations. Parents must play a supervisory role. At the same time, families need support from schools and in the form of media education services.
Is it even possible to enforce a social media ban?
Yes. It is technically possible if sufficient pressure is put on the platform operators. When the fines are high enough, they will consider it worth developing solutions. In the most extreme cases, platforms will be shut down until they comply with the rules.
That’s the basic problem. As yet, there is no means of reliably identifying a person’s age online in a way that is anonymous, data-minimising and non-discriminatory. Young people always find ways to bypass age limits. So bans can also lead to a false sense of security.
What concrete advice do you give parents when it comes to dealing with social media?
Keep abreast of current developments, keep talking and set a good example. Parents should reflect on their own media consumption and lay down clear rules - such as only allowing smartphones from the age of 14 and social media from the age of 16. Risks originate not only on social media but also on gaming platforms or AI chats because the digital world is changing extremely rapidly and new risks are emerging all the time. To help parents navigate their way through these issues, I recommend information sources such as the Medienzeit (Media Time) blog for parents.
The first question in my mind is which network we are talking about here. WhatsApp, Snapchat and TikTok are not all the same thing. Parents should decide whether and under what conditions their child should be allowed to use which platform. It’s important to be aware of the protective measures that are available and to regularly talk about possible risks. Children should not be online on their own, without supervision.