Before bans for under-16s, we need to ask: what counts as social media?

By Charlotte Pennington, Lecturer in Psychology, Aston University
Daniel Shaw, Lecturer in Psychology, Aston University
Evelyn Murray, PhD Candidate in Cyberpsychology, Aston University

Amid growing concerns about teenagers’ mental health and wellbeing, governments around the world are considering or enacting new restrictions on young people’s access to social media.

Australia has already legislated a ban on social media for under-16s, and the UK government has announced plans to introduce similar restrictions from spring 2027.

Yet a fundamental question remains largely unanswered: what exactly are governments trying to regulate through these bans?

Policymakers…

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