Spain’s plan to ban children under 16 from using social media has reopened the debate about the risks young people face online, from addictive design to early exposure to sexual content.
The policy
The government has announced that it intends to prohibit access to social networks for under-16s and to make platforms more accountable for what happens on their services. The measure is part of a wider effort to strengthen the protection of minors online.
Early exposure
Data from Spain’s data protection agency suggest that many children first encounter pornography online at a very young age, often around the end of primary school.
Nayara Malnero, a psychologist, sexologist and couples therapist, says the problem is not only pornography. Social networks also contribute to the early sexualisation of children through content such as dances, influencers and hypersexualised images. Children learn by imitation, she explains, and this content can give them distorted models of bodies and relationships before they have the maturity to understand them, damaging their self-esteem.
Designed to hook
Malnero supports the restrictions, while acknowledging that some young people will find ways around them. She believes the measure sends an important message to families and schools about the addictive design of many platforms, which is especially powerful on developing brains. Young people, she says, find it harder to limit screen time, and hours online can replace real-life social contact.
Education, not just bans
Malnero argues that legal restrictions alone will not solve the problem. Children need education about online risks from an early age: information does not traumatise them, she says — a lack of preparation does.
Advice for parents
- Talk openly. Ask children about what they see online and what they think about it, and listen without judging.
- Build trust, so they come to you if they see something that worries them.
- Use parental controls and age-appropriate settings, but don’t rely on them alone.
- Agree screen rules as a family, including keeping devices out of bedrooms at night.
- Work with schools on digital education and critical thinking.
The wider debate
Spain is one of several countries tightening rules on children’s use of social media, following Australia’s ban for under-16s. Supporters see it as an overdue response to the effects of social media on young people’s mental health; critics question how age verification will work in practice and warn about privacy implications.
