The UAE wants kids off social media. Will Big Tech rethink its business model?

For more than a decade, social media companies have focused on capturing people’s attention. Features like swipes, notifications, recommendations, and autoplay videos are all designed to keep users online longer. Now, as more research connecting excessive social media use to  worsening mental health continues to mount, governments worldwide are asking:  Should children be part of this digital attention economy?

The UAE’s decision to ban children under 15 from accessing social media marks a significant shift in how the government here approaches online safety. Under the new regulations, platforms will be required to prevent underage users from creating accounts and introduce stronger safeguards for older teenagers. The move places the UAE alongside countries such as Australia, France, and the UK, which have all introduced or strengthened restrictions designed to protect children online.

Each country has its own approach, but they all aim to make social media companies more responsible, instead of leaving it all up to parents.

For Dr. Saliha Afridi, Counselor and Chairwoman at LightHouse Arabia, the growing regulatory momentum reflects what mental health professionals have observed for years.

“The research at this point is quite conclusive: social media is addictive and unhealthy for kids in their formative years,” she says. Children who spend significant time on social media consistently exhibit higher rates of anxiety, unhealthy comparison, poor academic performance, poor attention, relationship issues, lower body image, and unhealthy behavioral trends. “Their self-identity is vulnerable and susceptible to social media messaging,” she adds. “The chances of it being harmful at younger ages are far more likely.”

According to Morey Haber, Chief Security Advisor at BeyondTrust, the companies behind social media platforms already possess the technology needed to enforce age restrictions; they need to prioritize it.

“Social media platforms bear significant responsibility for enforcing the UAE’s age restrictions because they control the technology, user onboarding process, and access mechanisms that determine who can participate,” he says. “If social media platforms can accurately target advertisements based on age and personalize content based on user behavior, they can also invest in stronger age assurance and identity verification capabilities.”

The main issue is whether governments can change an industry built on keeping people engaged, and if tech companies are willing to put kids’ well-being before growing their user numbers.

WHY CHILDHOOD AND SOCIAL MEDIA DON’T GEL

Afridi believes adolescence is one of the most psychologically vulnerable stages of life, making it particularly susceptible to the pressures amplified by social media. “Fifty percent of all mental health issues show up in children at the age of 14,” she says. Layered on top of academic expectations, social media creates what she describes as a “super peer”, a constant source of comparison, validation, and influence that can shape identity before it has fully formed.

Children who spend less time on social media, she argues, gain something increasingly difficult to find online: the opportunity to develop genuine relationships, build resilience, and discover who they are without the constant pressure of digital feedback. Those with little or no exposure have “more time to engage in real, deep relationships, develop a stable sense of self, and experience better sleep, better emotional regulation, and an increased ability to tolerate boredom.”

A BAN IS THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG

Despite her strong support for the UAE’s decision, Afridi does not believe legislation alone will solve the problem.

“I actually think it should be higher; 15 is still too young. I would like to see it 17 or 18, post-high school.”

She thinks the new rules are a good step because they help parents feel more confident about setting limits. “This law empowers parents who might feel pressured to allow their kids on social media,” she says.

But restricting access without offering alternatives risks leaving a void. 

“We can’t take away something without replacing it with something else,” she says. “The truth is many sports, arts, and music activities are costly and inaccessible, social media is ‘free’, although the cost is to their mental and physical health, but it can keep kids entertained and engaged for no cost.”

Making extracurricular activities more affordable and accessible, she argues, would not only reduce dependence on social media but also give children opportunities to build confidence, friendships, creativity, and emotional resilience offline.

THE TECH INDUSTRY’S RESPONSIBILITY

Haber says that enforcing age limits shouldn’t rely on kids telling the truth about their birth date.

“Compliance with age-based restrictions requires more than asking users to click a button confirming they are old enough,” he says. Platforms should instead adopt layered identity verification that balances privacy with greater confidence in users’ ages, using trusted third-party age-assurance technologies, digital identity services, or government-approved verification where appropriate.

From his perspective, identity verification should become as fundamental to social media as authentication is in enterprise cybersecurity.

“Just as enterprises verify privileged users before granting administrative access, social media companies should verify age and eligibility before granting access to their platforms.”

CAN SOCIAL MEDIA BE LESS ADDICTIVE?

The bigger challenge, however, is whether platforms are willing to rethink products deliberately designed to keep users engaged.

“Technically, yes,” Haber says when asked whether social media can become less engaging for children. “Commercially, that is a far more difficult question.”

He notes that today’s platforms optimize for daily active users, session duration, advertising impressions, and click-through rates. Endless scrolling, algorithmic recommendations, push notifications, likes, streaks, and autoplay are all intended to reinforce engagement.

Instead, he argues, companies could introduce chronological feeds, mandatory usage breaks, screen-time limits, educational prompts, and friction that encourages users to end a session rather than continue scrolling.

“As long as revenue is closely tied to attention,” Haber says, “there will be tension between protecting children and maximizing engagement.”

THE FUTURE OF CHILDHOOD

The UAE’s decision reflects a broader shift in how policymakers view childhood in the digital age. Rather than treating online safety as a matter of parental responsibility alone, governments are increasingly asking technology companies to redesign products that have long rewarded attention over well-being.

Whether the policy succeeds will depend on more than age verification software or legal enforcement. It will require parents, schools, communities, and technology companies to rethink what a healthy childhood looks like in an always-connected world.

This means helping kids swap digital approval for real friendships, creativity, sports, and emotional strength. It’s also about making child safety a key part of platform design, not just an afterthought.

Experts agree that protecting the next generation isn’t just about keeping kids off social media. It’s about creating a digital world and a society that gives them healthier ways to grow and thrive.