As these conversations grow louder, it remains to be seen whether India will take formal steps towards regulating children’s social media usage.
As Australia moves to restrict children’s access to social media, a growing number of Indians are voicing their support for similar measures, reported news18.com.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has proposed a ban on children using social media due to its potential physical and mental health impacts. The centre-left government aims to implement an age verification system within the next few months.
In a recent interview with ABC News, Albanese emphasized the importance of getting children away from screens and back into physical activities. “I want to see kids off their devices and onto the footy fields, swimming pools, and tennis courts. We want them to have real experiences with real people because we know that social media is causing social harm,” he said.
This proposal comes after Australia’s eSafety regulator issued a directive in July, urging internet companies to create enforceable measures to protect children from harmful content like pornography. If companies fail to act, they risk facing government-imposed regulations.
However, many agreed that for such measures to be effective, parents need to lead by example. “For this to work, parents themselves must reduce their phone usage. Children tend to imitate their parents’ habits. If you read a book in front of them, they are more likely to develop an interest in reading,” added another user.
As Australia leads this initiative, similar sentiments are growing in India. On the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), one user expressed hope that India would adopt a similar policy. “I hope India does it as well and enforces strict rules for parents who let their children use phones for long hours. Almost every child under 10 I know won’t eat without watching YouTube videos.”
Another social media user highlighted how this dependence on phones developed: “We’ve reached this point because DTH channels for kids hiked their prices so much that it became cheaper for parents to hand them YouTube. Channels like Doraemon and Shin Chan were popular, but when kids became too hyperactive, shows like Shin Chan were even banned in India for a while.”
Other parents shared their strategies for managing screen time. One commented, “My 9-year-old gets YouTube only during meals, restricted to 15-20 minutes on the TV. No phones are allowed from either parent, and he uses his grandmother’s phone for games, limited to 20-30 minutes after dinner.”
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