South Africa should seriously consider restricting social media access for children under 16 as part of a broader online safety strategy, according to a North-West University academic.
Linique Hanekom, whose work at NWU’s Centre for Health and Human Performance includes research into neurodevelopmental disorders and early communication intervention, said such a restriction should form part of a comprehensive approach involving parents, schools, government and technology companies.
“I would prefer the language of an ‘age restriction’ rather than simply a punitive ‘ban’,” she said. “I would not view a restriction as a complete solution.”
Australia became the first country to enforce a national minimum age of 16 for social media use. Since 10 December 2025, designated platforms have had to take reasonable steps to prevent under-16s from creating or retaining accounts. Indonesia has followed suit, while the United Kingdom has announced that certain social media services will become unavailable to under-16s from spring 2027.
Hanekom said South Africa should study these approaches rather than copy them blindly. Local policy would need to account for unequal access to technology, digital literacy, education, data costs and the reality that many children go online to learn, create, find community and seek support.
“A restriction without education, platform accountability and accessible alternatives is unlikely to be sufficient,” she said.
The developmental concern reaches beyond offensive content. For younger children, real human interaction is essential developmental work, Hanekom said. Language develops through joint attention, taking turns, reading faces and body language, asking questions and repairing misunderstandings.
“The issue is not simply what a screen does to a child; it is what the screen may prevent the child from doing,” she said.
A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis in JAMA Pediatrics found that greater programme viewing and background television exposure among children under six were associated with poorer cognitive outcomes. Age-inappropriate content and caregiver screen use during children’s routines were associated with poorer psychosocial outcomes.
For older children, social media arrives while identity, emotional regulation and self-concept are still developing. It can intensify social comparison, fear of missing out and cyberbullying, while algorithms can surface self-harm, eating disorder, sexualised or violent material that children never sought.
Sleep is another concern. Late-night use, notifications and endlessly refreshed content can make disengagement difficult. Poor sleep then affects attention, memory, learning, behaviour and emotional regulation.
Unlike traditional bullying, online abuse can follow a child home, continue around the clock and be broadcast to an enormous audience. Children may encounter grooming, scams, misinformation and harmful challenges.
Hanekom said parents can delay social media accounts, keep phones out of bedrooms at night, create technology-free family time and model expected habits. Schools can establish phone-free periods, teach media literacy and explain how algorithms and advertising influence behaviour.
Government should demand child-safe default settings, meaningful parental controls, stronger data protection, limits on contact from unknown adults, independent safety assessments and transparency about recommendation systems, she said.
Technology companies must reduce harmful content loops and manipulative design features, Hanekom added.
“We need to move away from a model where children are expected to adapt to platforms designed primarily to maximise engagement,” she said.
“Technology should become part of childhood without becoming a substitute for childhood.”
