Silicon Valley billionaires engineered a screen-obsessed world, glueing children in the developing world to gadgets and social media at a very early age, when their brains and emotions are most vulnerable. Among adolescents, whose identity is still forming, increased social media use leads to social fragmentation and cognitive harm.
However, the Silicon elites, in their own homes, practise strict screen time limits, shielding their children from the tools they once propagated. This contradiction appears to be quite disturbing. It raises a very profound question: why is the Global South left to bear the brunt of unchecked digital immersion, while the architects of such digital platforms are quietly crafting protective boundaries for themselves?
Three years ago, my nephew and niece from Australia visited us in Lahore. I watched them spend nearly every waking hour glued to their screens: scrolling and swiping while the neighbourhood children played outside, waiting for company that never came. The devices had become their companions, replacing the laughter and social bonds that once defined childhood.
This year, however, the contrast was striking. After hearing about Australia’s move to impose limits on screen time, I was delighted to see my niece spend her days immersed in books rather than disappearing into the vortex of social media. The shift was more than personal; it was a reminder that boundaries, when enforced, can restore balance in a world engineered to keep young minds tethered to screens.
It is increasingly argued that, to protect the well-being and mental health of children and teens, a ban on social media is mandatory. This is owing to the risks of social media—such as cyberbullying, harmful content, and online predators—outweighing the positives. In 2025, Australia became the world’s first country to ban social media for children, prohibiting them from using Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.
A landmark ban on social media for children under 16 shifts accountability to tech platforms, requiring them to block underage accounts instead of leaving enforcement to parents. Australia’s approach has triggered a regulatory cascade across Europe and other countries. Nations such as Britain, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Malaysia, and India are also working on imposing restrictions that would prohibit children under 16 from accessing social media. These countries are calling for age restrictions on social media platforms, referring to such platforms as ‘predatory’ in how they keep their users engaged online.
In our country, mobile phones are not just entertainment; they are often the cheapest gateway to education, connection, and aspiration
Why has a ban emerged in developed countries? According to the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, data gathered after 2020 suggests that 96% of adolescents in the European Union engage in social media activities, while 37% spend over three hours per day browsing social media platforms.
The U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that 77% of U.S. high school students use social media on a frequent basis. These students are victims of cyberbullying and exhibit high rates of depression, with persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness. Alarmed by these trends, the Prime Minister of Denmark prepared a plan for a ban on social media, arguing that mobile phones and social networks are stealing children’s childhoods.
Pakistan’s digital landscape is surging, according to DataReportal, with 66.9 million active social media identities at the start of 2025—roughly 26% of the population—yet regulation remains virtually absent. Platforms like TikTok, Facebook, and Snapchat dominate daily life, especially among the country’s youthful population, where the median age is just 21. By contrast, Pakistan remains largely unregulated. In our country, mobile phones are not just entertainment; they are often the cheapest gateway to education, connection, and aspiration.
The glow of iPads and mobile screens has become the new playground for countless children across Pakistan. Instead of cricket matches in the streets or storytelling circles at dusk, many spend their evenings scrolling through Instagram, TikTok, and gaming apps. Parents lament the erosion of childhood, with traditional play, social bonding, and family interactions fading into the background.
Recently, the Lahore High Court sought government responses to petitions on banning social media, highlighting the mental, moral, and educational harm caused by unchecked digital immersion. Petitioners argued that platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook are eroding childhood and called for policy interventions.
Unlike developed nations, Pakistan’s environment remains largely unregulated, leaving families to struggle alone against the tide of screen addiction. Pakistan is only beginning to confront the crisis. Consider Steve Jobs, who admitted that his children had never used an iPad. Bill Gates banned smartphones until the age of 14. Peter Thiel allows his children just 90 minutes of screen time per week.
The hypocrisy of Big Tech should be Pakistan’s wake-up call: if Silicon Valley billionaires will not let their children use digital devices, why should ours be exposed without protection? Pakistan cannot afford to remain silent. Legislation to ban social media for children under 16 years of age is not just overdue; it is a moral imperative. Every day of delay means another generation tethered to screens, robbed of play, connection, and imagination. The time to act is now.