Images, videos and the ability to communicate online are increasingly consuming young people's time and attention, fostering addiction and exposing them to age-inappropriate content. In response, the European Union is moving toward banning social media for children under 16. Estonia is one of the few countries opposed to a blanket ban.

Social media has been part of everyday life for more than 20 years. Young people are among its most active users, as they have not yet fully developed the self-control mechanisms needed to resist addictive algorithms. Technology giants such as Facebook, TikTok and YouTube closely guard the inner workings of their platforms, but it is known that hundreds of employees work solely on capturing users' attention.

"From a business model perspective, recommendation algorithms that show us different kinds of content are absolutely central. Attention is measured mainly by how long you stay on the platform, whether you actively scroll, what you watch to the end, what you click on and so forth," said Katrin Tiidenberg, professor of participatory culture at Tallinn University.

The average teenager spends two to three hours a day on social media. Over the course of a year, that adds up to an entire month. Some, however, spend as much as six hours a day online.

Heavy use can lead to addiction and brings a range of additional risks. More than half of Estonian children reported seeing disturbing content online in the past year, including violence, while one in five students said they had received sexually explicit messages, according to the 2025 EU Kids Online Estonia survey. The debate over the harmful effects of social media has now reached the point where the European Union is considering banning it for children under 16.

"We do not have to accept our children being pulled into increasingly extreme content. We do not have to accept photos of girls and women being used to create AI-generated sexualized images," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Although keeping young people away from social media may at first seem logical, Estonian politicians and experts disagree.

"A ban may seem like a quick and easy solution to politicians, but it is not a miracle cure. The OECD strongly emphasizes the need for a combined approach. The real problem is the harmful content circulating online and the addictive environment, both of which need regulation. Experts recommend redesigning platforms. The major organizations behind social media should address these addictive design features," explained Eneli Kindsiko, an expert at the Foresight Center.

Several countries, however, have already moved ahead with restrictions independently. Australia was the first to act, blocking under-16s from accessing popular websites last year. France, Norway, Spain and Germany are expected to follow. Policymakers are now closely watching whether the bans produce results, though no comprehensive studies are yet available. Australian teenagers, meanwhile, have already found ways around the restrictions.

"In preparation for this interview, I spoke with an Australian colleague who leads the Center of Excellence for the Digital Child at Curtin University and is an absolute expert in the field. She said preliminary data suggests that 60 to 70 percent of young people are still using social media. They either changed the age on existing accounts or use platforms without logging in. That creates another problem because we have no idea what children are doing or seeing online," Tiidenberg said.

That has not persuaded Europe to abandon the idea of a ban. Only Belgium and Estonia have openly opposed it. In Estonia, experts argue that social media also has many positive effects, including reducing loneliness.

"According to the OECD PISA study, Estonian youth experience a lower sense of belonging than the OECD average. Last year's report by the Internal Security Service showed that young people without a sense of belonging can quickly drift toward extremism. That is the backdrop against which we are operating. Social media is a place where young people find attention and a sense of belonging," Kindsiko noted.

According to Tiidenberg, social media can also positively influence identity formation and help young people develop various skills, including digital literacy and creativity.

Estonian politicians Riina Sikkut of the Social Democratic Party and Priit Sibul of Isamaa said they have not completely banned social media for their own children, though both expressed concern about the content circulating online.

"For example, my 11-year-old is allowed 15 to 30 minutes of use per day. Her phone is locked at night, so even if she wanted to, she could not access the internet," Sikkut said.

As a result, Sikkut supports age verification on platforms and blocking certain types of content, such as violence and pornography, for younger users.

"If a user's age is properly verified and platforms know whether they are dealing with a child, teenager or adult, rules could be agreed together with the platforms so that children are not shown inappropriate content like pornography or killings," she added.

Sibul, however, opposes additional regulation and believes parents should instead look at themselves.

"The solution is not in bans, but in parental example and awareness, in making sure families have healthy relationships. Without strong relationships, problems only grow over time. Today I had children from Otepää visiting me. Rules and bans may seem like a simple solution, but young people also point to the positives — such as global friendships that people from my generation never had," Sibul said.

Although smart devices often serve as babysitters in Sibul's own home, his younger children still use basic mobile phones rather than smartphones.

"What shocked me was walking past a car parked outside a pharmacy and seeing an infant in a safety seat with an iPad placed in front of them. That really startled me," Sibul recalled.

Questions have also been raised about the practical implementation of restrictions. Brussels is proposing an age-verification app that would require all social media users to prove their age. It would work similarly to digital signatures but would store only the user's age.

"This raises data protection concerns: whether facial recognition would be involved, what information would be shared and where it would be stored. The issue definitely needs careful discussion. Personally, I do not think a child's date of birth is more sensitive information than the fact they are already posting photos of their face or bedroom online," Sikkut said.

But what do young people themselves think? Much of their day may be spent on their phones — sometimes as much as seven hours — though some of that time is devoted to schoolwork. Even so, time spent on social media can disappear almost unnoticed.

"It's a way to unwind. After a long day of being very social and dealing with lots of stress, it gives you a chance to step away from everything for a moment," said 17-year-old student Isrid Ingermann.

"My biggest time drain is TikTok. I always think I'll only watch for five minutes, but time slips away without me noticing. Suddenly an hour has passed and I'm still scrolling," admitted 16-year-old student Elisabeth Mii Arbeiter.

"One possible solution would be an algorithm that shows you the content you want to see for the first half hour or hour. If it detects that you're getting stuck in the app, it could start showing you more boring posts instead," suggested 19-year-old student Isabela Helena Viks.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and X and never miss an update!