It is not only the Australian government that is worried about extreme and compulsive social media use among youth that is building into a huge social problem in the modern age. The Tamil Nadu government, too, would like to ban gaming as youth activity because it believes the Internet gaming disorder is a pathological disorder equivalent to a mental health problem.
The EU and the US have been in the forefront of the skirmishes against Big Tech that have more to do with their monopoly positions. But no one has taken the lead yet in trying to design a regulatory mechanism to keep the very young out of danger of becoming Internet and social media addicts.
Any regulatory mechanism like establishing a minimum age for social media use or an outright ban on accessing the Net is bound to fail. That bans simply do not work is the message the Internet has often held out in the world of new technology. And yet the problem cannot be wished away simply because there is no clear remedy in sight yet.
Monitoring and parental guidance are the best means in a support system run by parents and teachers who are in the ideal position to influence young minds these days even if they are dealing with a problem whose dimensions are such that humans are just getting a taste of how new age threats are impacting the youth.
Safe social media usage that can help the young tap the fruits of the knowledge era is not an illusory concept at a time when youth awareness of the cost and benefit is probably far higher than it was in people of preceding generations. The problem right now is that enough attention is not being paid to Internet addiction, which is an adjunct of the larger issue of cell phone addiction, despite preliminary warnings from physical and mental healthcare professionals.
