Scientists Warn of ‘Unintended Harm’ from Teen Social Media Ban
By Vishwam Sankaran
Young people may adapt quickly online and move to other harder-to-monitor spaces.
Adolescent social media use restrictions, such as the one adopted in Australia and being planned in many countries, may cause unintended harm to children while leaving root causes unchanged, scientists warn.
Researchers argue that social media operates within a wider system that includes adolescents, families, schools, and governments, and any problematic use cannot be tackled with isolated policies.
They warn that a complete ban on social media platforms may drive adolescents to more private or harder-to-monitor spaces.
Blanket bans on social media may drive Big Tech companies to adapt politically, scientifically, technologically and economically after regulation similar to the way tobacco and alcohol industries have adapted, researchers write in the British Medical Journal.
TikTok uses “age inference”, which examines a person’s activity on the site to estimate their age
Companies may try to redefine what counts as “social media” so that it falls outside new regulations.
They may invest more in less regulated spaces and shape policy through lobbying and public messaging, scientists caution.
Social media use restrictions may also not affect all young people in the same way.
Those with supportive families, access to high-quality educational resources and opportunities may benefit more than those facing isolation, unsafe environments or limited support, scientists argue.
Social media platforms are “a place where friendships are made, where people can find communities, express themselves, learn new things, and sometimes a place to escape difficult situations,” one adolescent author says.
Social media platforms are “a place where friendships are made, where people can find communities, express themselves, learn new things, and sometimes a place to escape difficult situations,” one adolescent author says.
“I have had friends reach out to me on social media about things they aren’t comfortable talking to family members about, and I have done the same. Without social media, what could we have done?” the author argues.
“If certain platforms were banned or limited, most young people wouldn’t just stop using social media altogether – we move to other apps because young people can adapt quickly online. It would not scare or discourage us from finding something else,” the adolescent says.
(Reuters)
Instead of blanket bans, scientists call for designing systems to anticipate these effects and create more balanced, evidence-informed approaches.
Evaluations of social media’s effects must move beyond standalone measures like screen time or short-term changes in mental health to capture wider factors like school engagement, social connections, industry and platform responses, and long-term effects, researchers say.
Such a broader view “will help ensure policies are balanced, flexible, evidence-informed, and improve over time”, they argue.
“Without this wider view, governments risk introducing highly visible policies that are poorly understood and may cause unintended harm while leaving root causes unchanged,” researchers write.
The European Union said it will move to limit young children’s access to social media across the 27-member bloc, in what would be the biggest such effort to date to guard against online dangers.
Australia, Britain, China, India and the United States have already imposed a social media ban or are considering one, which would mainly target TikTok, Alphabet’s YouTube and Meta’s Instagram and Facebook.
Original source: https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/teen-social-media-ban-harm-b3016012.html