Australia is poised to become the first country globally to ban social media use for individuals under 16 years old. The move aims to address cyberbullying, harmful content, body image pressure, and online predators. The Straits Times examines how five Asian countries are tackling social media usage among youth and the measures they're implementing to protect children.
Australia is set to implement a ban on social media usage by under-16s, seeking to curb instances of cyber bullying, harmful content and pressure over body image, as well as deter online predators.– which would be a world first in aiming to prevent the use of social media by children – is likely to be studied by other countries that are also combating a rise in screen addiction among the youth.
In 2019, Beijing capped children’s daily online game time on weekdays at 90 minutes, and banned them from playing between 10pm and 8am. This playtime wasNew rules continue to be rolled out. On Nov 15, 2024, the country’s cyber watchdog launched guidelines clarifying the “minor mode” features that it had mandated companies to implement since January.
Young people, especially adolescents, are often portrayed in the media as being vulnerable to harm caused by the internet, resulting in ills such as family conflicts, crime and death from online gaming marathons.Australia’s social media ban for youth below 16: A simplistic solution to a complex issue?
A September 2024 article on The Strategist, a website run by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute think-tank, concluded that Australia “can certainly take a page from Beijing’s playbook and force all the stakeholders in our digital ecosystem – from app developers to app stores and device manufacturers – to cooperate, so we can build a digital ecosystem that keeps young children off social media until they are ready”.
The western prefecture of Kagawa had in 2020 passed an ordinance to limit online screen time for children under 18 to just 60 minutes on weekdays and 90 minutes on weekends, with the aim of preventing internet and gaming addiction. In Tokyo, a metropolitan government survey found that three in 10 elementary school children had sent images or videos of their faces or bodies to strangers through social media.
Addiction to social media among early teenagers and younger children has assumed epidemic proportions in India, where inexpensive smartphones and low-cost mobile data plans that are among the cheapest in the world – with 1GB costing as little as 9.5 rupees – have made the internet widely accessible.
While a ban similar to that in Australia has not yet been proposed by the government, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has been working with representatives from major social media platforms to explore ways to protect children online. “If that is done, then we will be able to achieve our purpose of whatever we want to achieve through a ban.”The pervasive use of social media among Indonesian children, coupled with a lack of digital literacy, makes for a dangerous mix, making them vulnerable to digital crimes such as online gambling and sexual exploitation, activists say.
Mr Andy said that it is necessary for the government to include digital literacy as part of the curriculum, starting with elementary school. Social media platforms like Instagram, YouTube and Facebook are the main channels where Indonesian internet users find online gambling advertisements, according to a survey published by consumer research company Populix.The dangers faced by Indonesian children online have not escaped the notice of the government.
for those under five, while those aged between five and 10 allowed access for only a few hours. For those aged 11 to 18, he said the duration of internet privileges can be decided by parents. In a Bill introduced in Congress in 2022, Mr Fernandez raised concerns about cyber bullying, privacy violations and the negative impact of excessive screen time.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s government has tried to crack down on the online sexual abuse of children, as the country has long been dubbed a hot spot for child pornography.
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