Australia has become the first country to ban social media completely to minors under 16 years of age. The ban, which came into effect earlier this month, has been introduced through legislation which includes hefty fines for non-adherance. Other countries like France, Italy and Germany have introduced parental consent measures for social media access - limiting social media use without imposing bans.

A few weeks ago, the Maltese government published a green paper for consultation on social media reform including the regulation of its use among minors. The consultation process, which will close in February 2026, was launched by Minister Michael Falzon and Parliamentary Secretary Rebecca Buttigieg. It questions age limits, protective measures, sanctions and age verification systems amongst others.

Social media is widely accessed locally by adults and children. Despite the age restriction of 13, many pre-teens access social media platforms or have their own social media accounts. This may be due to the wide access to digital devices such as mobile phones and tablets but also since these generations were exposed to smart devices from birth.

Most probably the first device that pre-teens held in their hand was a phone or a tablet passed by their parents to keep them occupied. The result is that these generations are so used to smart devices that their online navigation skills are remarkable. The same applies to the access and use of social media. Social media is part of their lives - it is their communications tool, their means of expression, their creativity medium, and their reward system.

For some it becomes a bullying platform,  a confrontation tool, a skewed mirror of reality and a source of inadequacy and frustration.  Life is never easy, whether in the real or in the virtual world.  This is especially to youngsters who are still developing, whose brains are not yet fully formed, and who are still emotionally fragile.  The negative effects associated with social media can be devastating for some.

Social media is affecting the education system. The most noticeable effect is the attention span of students which has diminished. Social media reels provide compressed information to users in a span of few seconds. The constant scrolling from one reel to another is gratifying to students through the variety of information but it cannot be replicated in class during a lesson.

Teachers are shortening the duration of activities owing to shortened attention spans but they cannot compete with social media reels. The production of social media visuals is another aspect which is affecting teaching.  No matter how resourceful teachers are, it is impossible to compete with the visuals produced in social media.

Teachers are neither content creators nor audiovisual producers. Students' expectation for spectacular visuals during lessons cannot be met. Students are also communicating with peers beyond the classroom through respective social media platforms. At times, they carry out communications till late or even during the night, with difficulties to concentrate during the day. Communcation through social media can also turn sour with online conflict and bullying which are also manifested in schools and which require remedial actions.  Some schools are running sessions to students on social media use and their effects. These initiatives are welcome. 

For once, we are lucky that a larger country (Australia) has implemented a tough measure (ban) ahead of any measure that we may implement in Malta. We can therefore observe and learn from the success or failure of the said ban.

I am not convinced that bans are effective. They shift the use to underground media, possibly through platforms that are worse than mainstream social media. Monitoring and controlling underground platforms is next to impossible and we surely cannot introduce measures that channel pre-teens or teens to underground media. The effects would be more devastating than the current social media effects, which still cannot be overlooked.

Marco Bonnici is President of the Malta Union of Teachers