YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat are the top social media platforms in terms of screen time among teens. It’s astounding to witness the lack of verbal conversations between Gen Alpha due to the rise of social media and smartphone reliance. Having restrictions on social media shouldn’t be considered a ‘shock to the system’ because a life without social media did once exist.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced that starting January 2027, there would be a ban on social media usage for kids under 15. His reasoning for this decision was to help decrease the rise of anxiety that youths are experiencing, along with sleep problems and mental health concerns.
Greece is one of the latest countries to implement age restrictions for social media access. Australia was the first country to establish account removals for users under 16 on top social media platforms. Spain, France and Austria have also expressed support for age restrictions when creating social media accounts.
Imposing age restrictions allows teens to be exposed to social media later in their life, which is shown to bring benefits for adolescent health. But arguments on these bans being ineffective are loud from social media campaigns. When announcing the planned restriction, Mitsotakis expressed that this will help young people feel they don’t need to constantly keep up with social media and help rid the exhaustion of self-comparison or pressure to constantly be online.
These conclusions are from conversations that parents and leaders like Mitsotakis have exchanged. Parents expressed worries over how the link between kids’ overuse of phones and increased anxiety levels — sometimes leading to insomnia — is becoming an undeniable and legitimate concern.
In November 2025, after Australia’s successful age restrictions, the European Parliament gathered to discuss whether European Union countries should follow a similar plan to implement age restrictions. In favor of the plan were 438 Parliament members, with 92 against it and 86 abstentions. With this result, two new legislative acts, the Audiovisual Media Services Directive and the Digital Fairness Act, are currently awaiting legislative approval.
In June 2024, former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy announced that social media should have a warning label due to its potential to create mental and physical problems. He concluded that the harm from social media varies for individuals, depending on the amount of time spent online, the type of content they consume and how much their screen time affects their health.
During ages 10 to 19, the brain is considered to be in a highly sensitive period, where identity and feelings of self-worth start to form. This is unfortunately the same age range during which kids open their own social media accounts. High levels of social media exposure can cause negative effects on emotional learning and behavior, impulse control and emotional regulation.
In the U.S., surveys from the Pew Research Center have shown that parents with teens aged 13 through 17 have more severe concerns for their children’s mental health. Reports from teenage girls in the country showed their mental health, confidence and sleep hindered due increased social media use.
Social media has shown a strong connection to fueling people’s anxiety, depression, ‘Fear of missing out’ and loneliness. Self-isolation from social media occurs when someone spends more time on social media due to the temporary dopamine release, instead of actual physical interactions, which lets brains produce longer-lasting dopamine levels.
In 2020, a study reported that 44% of social media users in the U.S. claimed they’ve experienced online harassment, which can lead to greater mental health issues. Along with depression, FOMO and the constant pressure to keep up with social media, online harassment can trigger anxiety in some people.
It’s no surprise that social media is so present due to how society is so reliant on it. But it can be controlled with age restrictions, which is something that should be implemented in the U.S. through legislation.
With social media having such clearly documented negative effects on mental health across the population, drastic action must be taken.
