Social media ban for under-16s in Aotearoa: is this the right way to support youth mental health?

Health professionals, researchers, teachers and parents have observed, with concern, increased mental health problems among teenagers.¹ When Jonathan Haidt published The Anxious Generation, the idea that mobile phones and social media were driving this trend resonated widely. Popular culture has reinforced these fears, with the Netflix series Adolescence vividly portraying the risks of online life.

Proposals to ban social media for under-16-year-olds in Aotearoa New Zealand, following the lead of Australia and now the United Kingdom, have been widely welcomed. While this may appear an intuitively appealing solution, careful examination of evidence and consideration of unintended consequences are required before Aotearoa adopts a similar approach. We agree change is needed; recent lawsuits in the United States of America (USA) and Mexico found major platforms deliberately designed addictive features and exposed young people to harmful content, which is unacceptable. Platforms must be held accountable.

However, claims that social media is the primary driver of rising youth mental health problems require closer scrutiny. The rising rates of these problems appeared to predate the mass introduction of social media¹ but intersected with increasing globalisation, changes in family structure, housing precarity, food insecurity, widening inequity, discrimination, political polarisation, war and climate change.^2,3 Many studies fail to account for these broader social determinants and pre-existing risks.²

Much of the research evidence to date is cross-sectional and highlights associations, not causality.^2,4,5 Where harms have been identified, they are typically small and replication studies show contradictory findings.⁴ For example, a widely cited study by Twenge et al. (2018) reported correlations accounting for less than 1% of the variation in depressive symptoms—or, in other words, 99.666% of the variation was explained by other factors.^4,6 Research evidence also shows that there can be positive, as well as negative, effects.^2,4,5 The impacts of social media on youth mental health indicators depend on time spent online, type of content, individual characteristics and whether online activity displaces sleep or in-person relationships.^2,7,8 The potential harms of social media should not be dismissed, and most young people are not naive to these concerns; however, the available evidence according to the Bradford Hill criterion for causality do not justify attributing increases in mental health problems primarily to social media.

A recent Aotearoa select committee inquiry into online harms recognised the need for a comprehensive, multi-pronged response.⁹ Recommendations included strengthening liability for online harm, establishing an independent regulator, banning “nudify” apps and deepfake technologies, mandating algorithm transparency, restricting advertising, investing in education and research, and a social media ban for under-16s.⁹ We agree with most of the recommendations—but have significant concerns about the unintended consequences of a ban, particularly for young people’s mental health and access to support.

 While early data on the impact of the social media ban in Australia suggest some improvements in parental perceptions of offline social interaction and parent–child relationships, a quarter of parents reported reduced social connection or peer support for their child, and a similar proportion reported their child shifted to less regulated or unregulated platforms.¹⁰ This echoes youth responses to the ban.¹¹ In this way, despite positive intentions, a ban could increase isolation and vulnerability rather than reduce harm.¹²

Social media can provide connection and support, with a role in developing and maintaining friendships on- and offline.^2,5,12 Social media is also central to identity exploration and information seeking, and may offer belonging and understanding not experienced offline.^4,5 The ReachOut survey in Australia found that 73% of young people accessed mental health support via social media, particularly those from marginalised groups.¹³ Similarly, the most recent Youthline ASB State of the Generation survey found that young people are concerned about social media and that nearly a quarter use social media to find people going through similar experiences.¹⁴ Given that rangatahi Māori experience constrained access to care and poorer mental health outcomes, increasing options for support is of significant importance.^2,15

Young people are adept at circumventing age restrictions. Although most platforms ban under-13s, a recent USA study found 64% of this group still use social media, with an average of three accounts each.¹⁶ Australian data indicate similarly high circumvention rates, with 80% of 8–12-year-olds continuing to use social media despite restrictions—54% using parents’ social media and 36% having their own accounts.¹⁷ This and data sovereignty concerns about age-verification technology highlight the complex social, ethical, technical and legislative issues in implementing such a ban.

Mental health professionals also increasingly use digital platforms to “reach in” to young people who might not otherwise seek help, providing critical pathways to support for distress, mental health challenges and suicidality.¹⁸ These online strategies can be critical in facilitating young people into “real-life” conversations with families, health professionals and other trusted adults.

The central question is, therefore, how can we minimise the harms while preserving the benefits of social media? Aotearoa already has strong foundations. This begins with accountability. As health professionals and parents, we should not accept digital environments designed in ways that expose young people to harm. Regulatory reform is needed to ensure safer platform design, stronger protections and greater transparency. In Aotearoa, this includes updating the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015 and exploring additional regulatory levers, such as restricting harmful online marketing aimed at children and young people.

Education and capability-building are equally critical.^12,19 Health professionals do not routinely ask about social media use, despite its importance in young people’s lives. We need to actively support young people and their families to develop digital literacy. Many parents feel ill equipped to navigate these conversations or manage risks. Co-designed resources can help whānau engage more effectively through organisations like Netsafe and the Mental Health Foundation (see https://mentalhealth.org.nz/resources/resource/navigating-social-media-safely, https://netsafe.org.nz/, https://www.keepitrealonline.govt.nz/parents/research, https://digital-guardian-guide.vercel.app/conversation-guide).

Research innovation is also underway. For example, Te Ata Hāpara Suicide Prevention Research Centre at The University of Auckland is developing Chatsafe Aotearoa, which equips young people with the skills to communicate safely online about self-harm and suicide (https://suicidepreventionresearch.auckland.ac.nz/). This, and other work, recognises that social media is not going away; instead, we must learn to engage with it more safely and effectively while pushing our democratic representatives to regulate it at a national and international level.¹²

It is tempting to identify social media as a straightforward explanation for rising youth mental health problems. In times of uncertainty, there is also a tendency to favour restrictive, top-down solutions. These responses risk overlooking the broader determinants of mental health and the lived realities of people. Solutions must be generated alongside young people, families and communities to design safer digital environments while also addressing the broader social and economic conditions that shape wellbeing.^11,19

We therefore urge clinicians, policymakers and the wider community to take a measured, evidence-based approach. The goal is not to remove social media from young people’s lives, but to ensure it is safer, more supportive and appropriately regulated so young people can thrive in an increasingly digital world.