NJi does not want a ban or age limit on social media

On 28 May 2025, NJi contributed to the round-table discussion ‘Young people and social media’ held by the House of Representatives Committee for Digital Affairs.

In its contribution, NJi stated that over the past few years it had observed the following:

• There has been insufficient structural protection and regulation of the design of digital platforms. The focus was largely on providing information and on the individual responsibility of children and their caregivers.
• A joint, integrated approach is lacking. There are many separate initiatives within sectors such as research, education, healthcare and policy, in which the wheel is reinvented time and again.
• The scientific consensus – at this point – on social media is not sufficient to address societal concerns, with the prevailing sentiment seeming to be: screen use is inherently bad, and screen-free is always better.

Is banning social media an effective measure?

Growing concern is increasingly prompting the question of whether social media should be (partly) banned for children and young people. According to NJi, however, such a ban could be counterproductive because:

• It would not change the harmful design of platforms – in fact, the pressure on companies to make their platforms safer would disappear, creating the illusion that all risks have been eliminated.
• More time and resources would then have to be invested in enforcement, even though these are precisely what is needed to tackle aspects that we do know are harmful – such as addictive design, the lack of data ownership or harmful images.
• It would fail to take into account the differences between children and young people, and we would forget that social media actually offers some young people opportunities to participate, access information, receive help and support, and maintain social connections.

A different way of looking at social media

According to NJi, viewing social media as a living environment – just like home or school – creates room to tackle aspects that we know are harmful, such as a lack of data ownership or addictive design. Good protection in a living environment can be achieved, for example, by introducing laws, making investments, offering alternatives and implementing targeted policy measures, such as ‘Safety by design’. Consider the aforementioned examples from traffic: traffic lights, pedestrian crossings or traffic rules. NJi lists seven measures that we should consider in relation to social media:

• A government that pursues coherent policies through interdepartmental and European cooperation, for example concerning privacy, health, education and children’s rights, and ensures the proper implementation of existing laws with the interests of children as the priority (such as the GDPR and the DSA).
• Learning from other domains and environments where good frameworks already exist. Consider the Kijkwijzer rating system for audiovisual media.
• Investing in alternative physical meeting places and outdoor spaces that deserve young people’s full attention, so that they do not have to look for it elsewhere.
• Offering alternatives that align with social values and needs, such as simple phones, platforms with less personalised feeds, no endless scrolling, and a ‘red button’ for reporting an issue and deleting data.
• Actively involving young people in shaping – and ensuring safety in – their digital living environment.
• Strengthening media literacy in parenting and education. This includes technical skills as well as critical thinking, creative use and ethical reflection.
• Setting a good example by spending time without screens ourselves, and encouraging children and young people to play outside, make friends and exercise.