What India can learn from Australia and beyond

The tragic death of three sisters in Ghaziabad earlier this year, triggered a national conversation about the impact of unsupervised digital engagement on children. According to media reports the three girls aged 12,14 and 16 had become deeply immersed in Korean online content, gaming and digital communities. This incident once again raised an important question whether the current safeguards are sufficient to protect Indian children growing up in an increasingly digital world?

Young people spend hours hooked to their phone screens, missing out on outdoor play, sports, interactions with family and friends and adequate sleep time. Regular exposure to inappropriate, harmful content, cyber bullying and online predators- affects their self-esteem often leading to anger, anxiety and body image issues. 

Conversations among schools, parents and mental health experts have raised serious concerns about the growing dependence of children on social media created by their highly addictive algorithms. These algorithms analyse the viewing habits- what content is watched, searched, rewatched, commented upon or shared. Based on this behavioural data they keep delivering highly personalised content making it difficult to disengage from the digital platforms. This compulsive use ultimately has serious implications on children’s mental health, academic performance and social development.  

Addressing the concerns raised by parents, teachers and medical experts, several countries are considering restrictions on the use of social media by young people up to the age of 16. In 2024 Australia was the first country to implement a nationwide ban on ten most popular social media sites for under 16 young people, allowing limited access to only private messaging apps like WhatsApp. 

The Australian government gave social media companies a multi-layered method for age-identification such as age inference based on usage, facial and video scans, government ID, other photo IDs or bank credit cards with instructions to block all children under the age of 16 via age verification. The fear of fines of millions of dollars on non-compliance, resulted in removal of millions of under 16 users from social media platforms. However, after some time many new fake accounts by young people were reported using shared devices, parental accounts and false identities.

So, is all social media harmful for children? Social media is not merely a source of entertainment. It can be a powerful tool of learning and personal development helping children learn a new language, a new skill, access to educational content, research an area of interest, and participate in social and environmental causes.  At the same time growing evidence shows that unsupervised use of social media is adversely affecting social, emotional, physical health and academic performance of the young people adversely. 

The challenge therefore is not how social media can be completely banned for under 16, but how its risks can be effectively managed while gradually preparing young people to navigate the digital world. A ban offers temporary protection, but does it help children develop digital judgement and skills of self-regulation? Children who have never been exposed to the digital world till the age of 16, may struggle to recognise misinformation, bullying, online scams and additive features when they eventually gain access. 

Slated for implementation in 2027, England is developing a more flexible model compared to Australia. It restricts, instead of banning the use of social media for under 16 young people. It permits limited use, includes parental supervision and has new features like curfew on notifications to stop alerts at night to protect children’s sleep, mental health and attention.  Extended restrictions are placed on addictive features like auto play of movies/songs, daily rewards, ‘for you’ feed, and these restrictions are extended to include under 18 group. 

India currently relies on provisions of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023, but unlike Australia it does not have a comprehensive national framework for regulating social media access of young people under 16.  If India considers age-based restrictions for social media access it must include the following features to ensure its effective implementation. 

Age Verification Methods: Any restriction on access to social media sites is only as effective as the systems they use to verify user’s age. If the children can create an account entering a false date, the age -verification methods used by the platform are ineffective. India will need to strike a balance between recommending effective methods of age verification and ensuring that personal data of young people is not misused by the platform. 

 Parental Guidance in Digital Age: Unknown to many parents children access social media through their accounts. Digital parenting requires parents to be aware of the potential risks of excessive online exposure and to closely supervise their children’s online behaviour and ensure a balanced lifestyle with adequate physical activity and social interactions. 

Digital Citizenship Education before Digital Freedom: Just as children are taught road safety to navigate their way through busy roads, they must learn to navigate the digital highway with all its risks and scams. Learning knowledge, skills, values and behaviour that enable young people to use digital technologies safely, ethically and responsibly is digital citizenship education. Schools need to teach students how to protect their privacy, identity misinformation and fake news, learn to verify information before sharing, respond to cyber bullying confidently, be aware of their digital footprints and engage responsibly in the online space. 

 Platform Accountability: The social media companies are accountable if they pose a risk to children’s health. To share the responsibility for protecting children online with parents, schools and governments, they must follow principles of self-regulation, that include the following.  

• Ensure that their platform has a child-safe design. 
• Have an age verification system that works effectively. 
• Have transparent and strong systems for content moderation.
• Have restricted their use of addictive algorithms.   

Beyond the Ban

The question is not whether children in India should be protected online. Of course they should be. However, Australia’s experience demonstrates that legislation alone cannot do this. Laws can only create boundaries, but by themselves cannot guarantee the safety of children. Meaningful and lasting protection is possible only if parents, schools, social media companies and government work together to prioritise children’s well-being and create conditions that help them navigate the digital world responsibly.

END OF ARTICLE