Greece will ban under-15s from social media from subsequent 12 months.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis confirmed the ban on Wednesday morning, asserting it could start on 1 January 2027.
There’s widespread assist for a ban amongst adults in Greece, with 80% supporting the restrictions, in accordance with polling agency ALCO.
In accordance with the Greek Safer Web Centre in Athens, 75% of kids utilizing social media in Greece are of main‑college age.
“Ban them, shut them down. We have reached our limits… We dad and mom need assistance,” one mom advised the Reuters information company earlier than the ban was confirmed.
Georgia Efstathiou, 43, described having tried the whole lot to cease her 14-year-old son from spending a lot time on social media as she known as on the federal government to intervene.
One other guardian, Dimitris Daniil, 44, stated he thought a ban must be a final resort.
“I would favor a unique method, limiting cell phone use inside the household,” he stated.
“However the place that is not potential, maybe a ban would work as the intense treatment.”
His 14-year-old daughter Katerina stated most youngsters her age have by no means identified a world with out social media.
“It’s the means we realized since we had been born,” she stated.
“I can management it – however then once more I normally get carried away.”
Dimitris Daniil, 44 and his daughter Katerina. Pic: Reuters
Telephones are already banned in Greek faculties, in contrast to the UK, and the federal government has arrange parental management platforms to restrict youngsters’ display time.
In December, Australia banned under-16s from the know-how, changing into the primary nation to take action.
Since then, there have been rising calls world wide for governments to deal with on-line harms confronted by younger folks.
Learn extra on social media:
The international locations which have social media bans, or are planning to implement one
The social media-fuelled craze resulting in crowds of teenagers swarming cities
A social media ban for kids is not cut-and-dried case
Quite a lot of international locations are exploring social media bans, together with Slovenia, Spain and Austria, with the UK authorities consulting the general public on social media restrictions.
In addition to an all-out ban for under-16s, the session additionally explores restrictions like digital curfews and display cut-off dates.
The outcomes of that session are anticipated in the summertime.
On the identical time, a sequence of landmark authorized trials are beneath means within the US, with the primary two main trials lately discovering social media corporations accountable for harming customers by way of addictive options and design.
