Indian teens roll their eyes at talk of a social media ban

""How can this even be possible? All my friends plan everything on social media, from birthday parties to football games and even study sessions. This is unfeasible," Gupta later told DW. "Anyway, it is hard to implement without mandatory legal IDs for every login," he added. "And if it happens, we can easily bypass bans using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) or fake birthdays.""

"In December, Australia became the first country to ban people under 16 from using certain social media platforms. The government said the goal was to protect young people from harmful content and other risks. Australia's Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act requires age-restricted platforms to ensure users under 16 cannot hold accounts. France's National Assembly has backed a similar ban for children under 15, while the UK, Austria, Poland, Denmark and Greece are studying the issue."

Many Indian teenagers rely on social media to plan events, coordinate study sessions, and follow trends, and they view age-based bans as impractical. Enforcement obstacles include the absence of mandatory legal IDs for logins and the ease of circumvention via VPNs or false birthdates. Parents express uncertainty about whether restricting access or allowing online exposure poses the greater risk. Australia has enacted a law barring under-16s from certain platforms to reduce youth exposure to harmful content. Several European countries are considering similar measures, and some Indian states are exploring comparable bans following international examples.

Read at www.dw.com