A recent YouGov poll has found that 77 percent of people in Germany are in favour of a social media ban for under-16s, similar to that recently adopted by the Australian parliament.

Germany favours social media ban for under-16s

According to a YouGov poll of 2.000 German citizens, 77 percent of respondents were “fully” or “somewhat” in favour of Germany adopting a ban on social media for people under 16 years old. Just 13 percent of respondents said they would “somewhat” or “fully” oppose such a ban. 

The poll comes the week after the Australian parliament passed a law which bans social media for under-16s. In a year, when the new Australian law is first implemented, social media companies will be responsible for verifying that users are over 16. 

Social media companies that allow those under 16 to make accounts will face fines of up to 30,5 million euros (49,5 million AUD), but under-16s or their parents will not face fines for breaching the new rules.

German kids spend 2,7 hours on social media per day

Responding to the YouGov survey, 82 percent of people said they were “absolutely certain” or “somewhat certain” that social media use is harmful to children and teenagers, due to its content, because social media platforms are designed to be addictive, or both.

A 2023 study of 360.000 children and adolescents by DAK-Gesundheit, a statutory health insurance provider, found that a quarter of 10 to 17-year-olds in Germany use social media apps (e.g. TikTok, WhatsApp and Instagram) for an average of 2,7 hours on weekdays and 3,8 hours at the weekend.

With Meta’s secret and highly predictive algorithms using more than 100.000 elements of behavioural information collected from individual users, there is growing concern that the “digital native” Gen Z and Gen Alpha are canaries in the coal mine for addictive and behavioural modification technologies which are little understood outside Silicon Valley. 

Australia is one of the first countries attempting to come between Silicon Valley and children’s eyeballs, but critics argue the current law is too flimsy and may drive young people to use the dark web, alternative platforms on parts of the internet which will remain largely unregulated.

The European Union is also taking steps to beat "Big Tech’s tricks, fuelled by armies of designers and psychologists to keep you glued to your screen," according to Dutch MEP Kim van Sparrentak. In 2023, the parliament passed a law to ban addictive design features used in online games, social media, streaming services and online marketplaces.

According to the European Commission, people aged between 16 and 24 spend an average of over seven hours a day on the internet, with one in four displaying problematic smartphone use resembling addiction

Of course, those over 16 or even 24 years old are not immune. According to the former vice president of global business marketing at Meta Michelle Klein, the average millennial checks their smartphone 157 times a day.

Thumb image credit: Jelena Stanojkovic / Shutterstock.com