<p>“I think I'll be bored,” says a 13-year-old boy from Kalaburagi, upon hearing of the social media ban for children aged 16, announced recently by the government of Karnataka on March 6, 2026.</p>.<p>“Maybe we can play for a few days, but what do we do when we can’t go out?” he asks. Another 15-year-old shrugs at the news, saying his parents’ account that he has been using will remain intact anyway and that there will be no effect on him. This difference in response accurately describes the varied influences a ban is likely to create in the state.</p>.<p>Social media and the digital world have revolutionised all aspects of society drastically in the last decade. But for a generation born right into it, the effects are even more pronounced and demand urgent attention and action. Countries such as Australia, Spain, France, and China have functional bans on social media for users under the age of 16, restricting access to platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, and many more are expected to implement similar age restrictions in the near future.</p>.<p>Chief Minister Siddaramaiah proposed a ban in the state budget 2026-2027 with the “objective of preventing adverse effects of increasing mobile usage on children.” It is also a part of the “Uttama Kalike Ujjwala Bhavishya” education reform programme.</p>.<p>Syed Tanveer Ahmed, an educationist from Bengaluru, says that social media could “hamper children's creativity, biological health, cognitive development, social growth, and could also bring a drop in their emotional quotient”. He also speaks of the age-appropriateness of certain kinds of content “that should not be allowed for children, but since filtering out such programmes is difficult, banning is a better option.”</p>.<p>Many studies, such as the Economic Survey of India 2025-2026, point to the link between high screen time and deteriorating mental health in the 15-24 age group. But children under 16 also show just as many, if not more severe, adverse effects from regular consumption of social media or mobile games.</p>.<p>A study conducted by Brian P Dunleavy on 160,000+ children aged 12 and younger cited an up to “20% higher risk of behaviour problems for children associated with higher screen time”. Another systematic review based in India by Ashish Khobragade and Swathi Shenoy showed the average screen time of a child under five in India as 2.22 hours a day, and children under two years as 1.23 hours a day, which is almost double the guidelines of 1 hour per day (for five year olds) and no screen time below two years given by the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) in 2021(IAP) or the WHO. </p>.<p>Evidence makes a case for urgent action, but the nature and extent of the action remain a subject of debate. Ali Khwaja, counsellor and life skills coach, and the founder and Chairman of The Banjara Academy, says, “I feel it is extremely difficult to impose such a restriction at the practical level, and teenagers who have been using social media for many years will do everything they can to side-step this ban. If unscrupulous people start offering devious ways to side-step this restriction, there may be worse implications. Restrictions and banning have never really worked in society as history has recorded – hence the question of positive impact can only be hypothetical.”</p>.<p>Maitradevi Halemani, a parent and sociologist from Kalaburagi, adds: “Social media is necessary. It can be difficult for a child to grow up without any in such a digital world. However, as parents, we have to teach and monitor the children and what they consume.”</p>.<p>“There is much more to the ‘digital world’ than social media. If it is actually possible to make children grow up without social media, they will actually look for other, more reliable and more human-related means of interactions, which will be a great boon for them," Khwaja adds.</p>.<p>As the discussion continues, the only remaining questions are the imposition and the nature of the regulation made by the government. It is up to parents and authorities to draw a clear red line and regulate children's use of social media and smartphones accordingly.</p>.<p><span class="italic"><em>(The author is a Kalaburagi-based masters student)</em></span></p>
<p>“I think I'll be bored,” says a 13-year-old boy from Kalaburagi, upon hearing of the social media ban for children aged 16, announced recently by the government of Karnataka on March 6, 2026.</p>.<p>“Maybe we can play for a few days, but what do we do when we can’t go out?” he asks. Another 15-year-old shrugs at the news, saying his parents’ account that he has been using will remain intact anyway and that there will be no effect on him. This difference in response accurately describes the varied influences a ban is likely to create in the state.</p>.<p>Social media and the digital world have revolutionised all aspects of society drastically in the last decade. But for a generation born right into it, the effects are even more pronounced and demand urgent attention and action. Countries such as Australia, Spain, France, and China have functional bans on social media for users under the age of 16, restricting access to platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, and many more are expected to implement similar age restrictions in the near future.</p>.<p>Chief Minister Siddaramaiah proposed a ban in the state budget 2026-2027 with the “objective of preventing adverse effects of increasing mobile usage on children.” It is also a part of the “Uttama Kalike Ujjwala Bhavishya” education reform programme.</p>.<p>Syed Tanveer Ahmed, an educationist from Bengaluru, says that social media could “hamper children's creativity, biological health, cognitive development, social growth, and could also bring a drop in their emotional quotient”. He also speaks of the age-appropriateness of certain kinds of content “that should not be allowed for children, but since filtering out such programmes is difficult, banning is a better option.”</p>.<p>Many studies, such as the Economic Survey of India 2025-2026, point to the link between high screen time and deteriorating mental health in the 15-24 age group. But children under 16 also show just as many, if not more severe, adverse effects from regular consumption of social media or mobile games.</p>.<p>A study conducted by Brian P Dunleavy on 160,000+ children aged 12 and younger cited an up to “20% higher risk of behaviour problems for children associated with higher screen time”. Another systematic review based in India by Ashish Khobragade and Swathi Shenoy showed the average screen time of a child under five in India as 2.22 hours a day, and children under two years as 1.23 hours a day, which is almost double the guidelines of 1 hour per day (for five year olds) and no screen time below two years given by the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) in 2021(IAP) or the WHO. </p>.<p>Evidence makes a case for urgent action, but the nature and extent of the action remain a subject of debate. Ali Khwaja, counsellor and life skills coach, and the founder and Chairman of The Banjara Academy, says, “I feel it is extremely difficult to impose such a restriction at the practical level, and teenagers who have been using social media for many years will do everything they can to side-step this ban. If unscrupulous people start offering devious ways to side-step this restriction, there may be worse implications. Restrictions and banning have never really worked in society as history has recorded – hence the question of positive impact can only be hypothetical.”</p>.<p>Maitradevi Halemani, a parent and sociologist from Kalaburagi, adds: “Social media is necessary. It can be difficult for a child to grow up without any in such a digital world. However, as parents, we have to teach and monitor the children and what they consume.”</p>.<p>“There is much more to the ‘digital world’ than social media. If it is actually possible to make children grow up without social media, they will actually look for other, more reliable and more human-related means of interactions, which will be a great boon for them," Khwaja adds.</p>.<p>As the discussion continues, the only remaining questions are the imposition and the nature of the regulation made by the government. It is up to parents and authorities to draw a clear red line and regulate children's use of social media and smartphones accordingly.</p>.<p><span class="italic"><em>(The author is a Kalaburagi-based masters student)</em></span></p>