The year 2026 has been an expensive one for social media platforms.
Since March, YouTube and Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, have settled or paid out in multiple lawsuits to the tune of more than US$17 billion for allegedly , deliberately designing their platforms and about safety and privacy. If these suits are any indication of how states and the public are starting to view social media platforms, more may follow.
On top of these lawsuits, social media platforms are facing a loss of business as are accelerating and spreading worldwide. with a ban on kids under 16 on social media starting in December 2025, with a similar prohibition.
The current list of countries looking to ban minors from these platforms tops , from Greece to the United Arab Emirates to Canada. The proposed and enacted bans around the world vary in terms of , parental consent rules and . Different countries are looking at restricting different platforms, but most include a mix of Snapchat, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X.
These bans – some are motivated by political concerns about foreign-owned platforms, and others aim to protect young people’s privacy. But nearly every government banning social media platforms for young people .
The question is, are these bans the solution to the ? I and measure the impact of new technologies, and I’m skeptical about whether prohibiting access to these platforms will actually improve young people’s mental health.
Mental health concerns
Since Jonathan Haidt’s 2024 book “” critics of social media have increasingly focused on young people’s mental health. Haidt argues that social media disrupts kids’ social and neurological development, contributing to rising anxiety and depression through , fragmented attention, , loneliness, social comparison and .
A 2026 study found that young people between 14 and 20 are more than than 14- to 20-year-olds 50 years ago.
Increased use of social media and screen time is compounding an already precarious time for minors. In 2021 it was estimated that 20.5% of young people , and 25.2% of youth reported elevated symptoms of depression globally.
Many factors contribute to this, including , as well as societal disruptions as a . As the world sheltered in place and moved online for work, school and social interactions, there was an .
Not all bad
In light of these concerns, that bans on social media platforms are like putting an age restriction on buying alcohol or cigarettes.
But unlike these addictive and potentially harmful substances, there are , especially for teens who feel disconnected from their local communities and with others who feel similarly.
Social media platforms allow for global connectivity and community-building with like-minded groups. They also provide a place for .
In a Pew survey of U.S. teens, 80% said to what’s happening in their friends’ lives.
Show me the money
One place where the comparison with tobacco is actually quite apt is in relation to the money from lawsuit settlements.
In 1998, states to recover smoking-related healthcare costs. Part of the settlement was allocated to programs aimed at reducing youth smoking. In 2026, total state funding for these programs amounts to in revenue states will collect from tobacco settlement payments and tobacco taxes.
Similarly, some money from an for $17 billion is slated for , school and community programs, and public health campaigns.
However, there is no oversight or direction as to how states should use the funds, nor is there a mechanism to report how that money has improved kids’ mental health care, safety and well-being.
Is it even possible?
Early evidence from the Australian social media ban shows that kids are finding work-arounds: Roughly 61% of kids ages 12–15 , altered appearances or virtual private networks, or VPNs, even though . In fact, this has become so common that U.K. lawmakers are debating restricting consumer VPN access.
Some countries, such as Australia, require the platforms themselves to develop ways of verifying a user’s age. Some minors have from by using photo manipulation software, substituting celebrity photos, and even utilizing older friends and parents to pass the “selfie tests” on their behalf. Others simply manipulate their birth years during registration or rely on managed by family members.
And all of these age-verification methods, whether developed by a government or a social media platform, rely on accurately, which creates privacy concerns.
Australia is currently on social media platforms that fail to comply with its requirements. The Australian safety commissioner, charged with enforcing the ban, issued a compliance update that showed 7 in 10 children who held accounts in restricted platforms , and more than 80% of Australian teens ages 10-15 still use social media frequently.
Beyond concerns about enacting and enforcing these restrictions, some policymakers also worry that total bans could push some kids to .
What could work
Based on the evidence, I’m not convinced that banning social media platforms will be an effective solution to the mental health crisis among young people today.
So what could work?
Supporting young people’s mental health is a complex endeavor that will require a combination of people, organizations and resources coming together.
I believe kids’ mental health would be better served by governments enforcing on social media platforms rather than outright bans. This means that the highest security and privacy options are in place by default so that minors still on a platform are protected. For instance, accounts would be unsearchable by default, so users would have to intentionally make a profile change to be found by people they don’t know in real life.
Safety by default standards also place limits on the manipulation, algorithmic restraint and other addictive mechanisms that may lead to psychological harm in vulnerable populations such as young people.
Educating kids on digital literacy and online safety as well as ensuring are also going to help support kids’ mental health.
It’s also important for parents and other caregivers to recognize changes in behavior as a result of . And when adults start seeing signs of a problem, they need clear, easy and affordable ways to connect their kids to mental health support, which is not available in most places right now.
And finally, the United Nations recommends about what’s best for them online. Obviously, this does not mean putting 12-year-olds in charge of regulatory agencies. But feedback from young people about what they care about, what they get out of being online and what makes it hard for them to look away from their screens could inform changes to social media platforms and education programs that could help young people engage online more safely and maintain a healthy balance.
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