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The debate over children’s use of smart phones and social media has intensified in recent months. Urgent and necessary conversations are taking place across kitchen tables, classrooms, and the corridors of power on the effect online platforms are having on young people’s mental health, behaviour and values – and particularly the worrying influence of toxic, misogynistic influencers on young men.
But turning concern into action is proving more problematic.
One of the most talked-about ideas is a ‘digital age of consent’ – a proposal to ban smartphones and/or social media for under-16s. It’s a suggestion born of an understandable and deep frustration. But is it realistic, even if it were enforceable?
The facts are startling. Research suggests teenagers are spending up to 7 hours a day on screens. That’s nearly half their waking hours immersed in digital life. Algorithms – built by very smart people in the tech world – are working overtime to make online experiences addictive, stimulating, and emotionally engaging. Recognition, inclusion, approval – they’re the currency of adolescence, and platforms have gamified them with extraordinary precision. But without enough thought to the harm they may be inflicting on our children.
But online culture is not all inherently toxic. At its best, it’s expansive, creative, and empowering. It offers connection, identity, education and enjoyment. The challenge is can we build a better digital world rather than just ban it?
We need to try to reduce that 7 hours or at least try to ensure that more of them are spent engaging with high-quality, trustworthy content. And that’s where public service media can – and does – play a vital role.
Today, 85% of public service broadcasters across Europe have a dedicated online kid’s offer. These spaces are designed with young people’s development, safety, and curiosity in mind, not just their data. From imaginative dramas and documentaries, to interactive learning and pro-social online games, public service content offers something algorithms can’t: purpose, meaning, and care.
Just as importantly, public service media showcases healthy role models for young people – not toxic figures who thrive on outrage and division.
Keeping kids safe online is also a priority for public service media. 86% of our Members have media literacy activities aimed at young people, such as VRT’s Slim op het internet (Smart on the internet) teaching kids how to deal with situations from catfishing to unsolicited photos, or NPO’s HackShield providing children with resources to better understand the information and risks they can encounter online. The list goes on across our membership in Europe.
We now need to make sure young people can find and discover all this content – not just the videos the platforms want them to click. There is already EU legislation in this area that can help. In the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, all EU Member States are called upon to develop and enforce national prominence measures that would make general interest content more visible on, for example, online platforms. Unfortunately, many governments have not yet implemented these important principles. In Member States where prominence measures have been implemented there is some improvement, but we have also seen that these laws must be thoughtfully developed to effectively counter the current situation.
In addition to prominence, platforms must be held accountable for the content flooding their platforms. At EU level, the Digital Services Act (DSA) has measures to protect minors online and demands transparency over the algorithms that control which content is shown when and to who. While these provisions have been misrepresented by the Trump administration who accuse the EU of contemplating ‘taxes’ on US tech companies, the penalties or investigations begun under the DSA simply call on US companies to respect the local laws when operating in European markets.
When you destabilise an ecosystem, as the big tech platforms have, the ripple effects are wide. And what we’re seeing with some boys and young men today is one of the scarier ripples.
So, let’s not retreat from the digital world. Let’s shape it. Let’s flood it with content that informs, inspires and includes. Let’s amplify the spaces that help young people grow, question, and connect.
That is not a call to unplug – but to rebuild.
Noel Curran is the Director General at the European Broadcasting Union.
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