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The effectiveness of the social media ban for kids (europe.pub)
submitted 2 months ago by to c/privacy@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/49761199

If you have been wondering about the effectiveness of the social media ban of under 15 year olds, this study got you :)

Spoiler: 92%+ of kids age 14-15 in Australia still use it ๐Ÿฅณ

Meanwhile IMO forced verification of users had a much better success rate ๐Ÿ˜‰

Source: https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w35162/w35162.pdf

Screenshot of graphic from this study of Australia's social media ban: https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w35162/w35162.pdf Percent of banned 14-15-year olds (b) Compliance rate, April versus June 2026 Usage rate: 64% April, 92% June Implied compliance: 27% April, 6% June Notes: Figure 5 reports self-reported past-7-day use of any banned platform.

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[โ€“] 16 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Accessible parental controls ARE the way forward. NOT digital ID and biometrics verification.

Supporting the latter shows a clear stance against privacy.

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  • [โ€“] 8 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    Also, limiting the platforms' addictiveness and control over its users would be even better. Things like removing infinite scroll and algorithms would make them way less predatory. There's already some lawsuits out over these practices.

    Think about it, if a store tries to stifle competition through price fixing or other monopolistic behavior, you don't put restrictions on who can shop there. You sanction them for the bad business practices until they follow regulations.

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  • [โ€“] 3 points 2 months ago*

    I'm in favor, but that's for improving social media in general and beside the point.

    Parents and legal guardians need better education and tools to effectively control what their kids and teens are exposed to online, not having their kids and teens used as an excuse to place everyone in an orwellian nightmare.
    They purchase smartphones, tablets, consoles and PCs for their children and still most of them don't have a clue about what they can do to mitigate the risks associated with these devices. Those that do either have enough studies or need to contact a professional to get everything set up.

    Governments should invest in this, even going as far as to tie these types of services to stores so when a parent buys a new iPhone for their minor it's already configured with the proper software, filters and permissions for a safe and adult monitored use at home.

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