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Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Friday announced a ban on the use of social media by those under 16 in the state, while presenting the budget, evoking a range of reactions from optimism to scepticism.
The CM said that the decision was aimed at preventing the adverse effects of social media on children.
“With the objective of preventing adverse effects of increasing mobile usage on children, usage of social media will be banned for children under the age of 16,” Siddaramaiah said while presenting the state Budget for 2026-27.
However, he did not elaborate on how this will be implemented.
Australia became the first country to ban social media for children under 16 in 2025, blocking access to platforms including TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. Since then, it has become a hot topic worldwide, including in India.
The central government’s Economic Survey, tabled in Parliament in January this year, said age-based access to online platforms should be considered, while also cutting down on online teaching to avoid digital addiction.
Karnataka Minister for Electronics, IT/BT Priyank Kharge had informed the Legislative Assembly in January that the state government was holding consultations on measures to ensure the responsible use of artificial intelligence and social media, especially among children.
Now that the ban has been announced, a cross-section of parents, experts and even opposition politicians welcomed the move. But some are wary of the practicality of the implementation.
Reactions to Karnataka’s social media ban for children under 16
Appreciating the move by the Karnataka government, Psychology and Child Development consultant at the Motherhood Hospital in Bengaluru, Saritha Nagaraj, said that social media increases the risk of poor mental health among children and teenagers – including symptoms of depression, anxiety, poor sleep, and body image issues arising from unhealthy comparisons, which can further lead to disordered eating – will be reduced.
“Their cognitive performance and emotional regulation are also likely to improve. Exposure to dangerous content will decrease, and this could help improve attention span as well as academic performance,” she told PTI.
Medianama founder Nikhil Pahwa said on LinkedIn that while banning children under 16 from social media may sound like a solution, it avoids the real problem. “The real issue is not social media, but how platforms are designed for delivering constant dopamine hits through algorithmic feeds, rapid-fire content, and behavioural feedback loops. These design choices shape how people behave online, what creators produce, and how attention is captured,” he said in his post.
Clinical Director at Rainbow Children’s Hospital, Dr Rakshay Shetty, said that while there are many disadvantages to the excessive use of mobile devices in children, given their ill effects on their psychology, it also provides significant practical utility for parents, teachers, and children. He said that the role of the parents was more than that of the government.
“We need to look at a balanced solution because a blanket ban can be counterproductive since implementing it is not practical, and it might remain like a paper tiger where there is a rule, but no one follows it. Instead, giving guidelines on how to practically use mobile devices and limit their excess use would be more practical,” he said.
Manohar N H, a resident of Jalahalli in Bengaluru who has two school-going children – a 16-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl – said that restricting social media for children below 16 may be good in some ways, but implementing it would be difficult.
“These days, teaching in many schools and colleges happens through apps. For instance, SSLC and PUC students, especially those in second PUC, already rely heavily on apps for classes and communication. Controlling social media use will be very challenging, particularly in government schools and colleges. The rule may be introduced, but I doubt it will succeed; the success rate may be only around 10 per cent,” he said.
However, the opposition BJP has welcomed the move, with the party’s Rajya Sabha MP Lahar Singh saying he had raised the issue through a special mention in parliament.
“Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi had also spoken about securing the interest of our younger generations at the AI summit, recently. I had further asked for restrictions on smartphone use among children in my parliament speech. I hope this, too, will be looked into seriously,” he said on X.
Jajabor brand consultancy founder and CEO Upasna Dash said this move is likely to have ripple effects across the ecosystem and change the way advertisers access this age group
“In that sense, while social media has become a dominant channel, communication with this audience has always taken multiple forms. What we may see now is a shift back to some of those approaches, including word of mouth, offline marketing, and brand insertions within broader content,” Dash added.
