EFFECTIVE PILL FOR ONLINE ILLS

OVER the last few months, several states have sent a clear message long overdue: in today’s age, child safety can no longer be treated as an afterthought.

- SASMIT PATRA

Calls for stronger restrictions on minors’ social media use are already being voiced citing mental health, academic performance and overall well-being.

From Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh to Goa and Punjab, state governments have begun recognising the seriousness of challenges children face online, and the fact that it is no longer a scattered concern but a national problem that demands urgent attention. The concern is not remote to my state, Odisha, either. This is not a sudden overreaction or a passing political trend, but rather the consequence of years of mounting harm and toxicity, and the ineffectiveness of platform safeguards.

Even this year’s Economic Survey framed social media addiction as a health challenge in which compulsive use among young Indians is leading to anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, sleep disturbances, reduced concentration and poorer academic performance.

Among the things children are exposed to on social media platforms are sexualised material, influencer-driven content, unrealistic lifestyles and manipulative trends. Added to this is the rising threat of bullying, predatory contact and generative artificial intelligence-enabled harms that overwhelm young users with misleading and often harmful material. It is for this reason that state-level conversations on social media regulation have largely framed the public health lens. While platforms are making efforts to improve a child’s experience on social media through measures such as teen accounts and parental tools, such efforts are clearly not enough.