PARIS - Countries including France and Britain are considering following Australia's lead by banning children and some teenagers from using social media, but experts are still locked in a debate over the effectiveness of the move. One of the main areas of disagreement has been determining exactly how much effect using social media has on young people's mental health. There is "plenty of evidence" that social media does harm to teens, he said, adding that some were demanding an unrealistic level of proof. Excessive screen time - particularly using social media and playing video games - was associated with problems. Being entirely deprived of social media was found to be most detrimental for boys in their later teens.

Source: Bangkok Post January 19, 2026 16:01 UTC