Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has proposed to ban the use of social media by children below 16 years of age in the state. The Chief Minister made this announcement while presenting his 17th budget. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that to prevent the ill effects of increasing mobile phone use on children, a ban will be imposed on the use of social media for children below 16 years of age.
This harm to children
The proposal comes amid growing concerns over more screen time, less focus on studies, behavioral changes and mental health challenges among teenagers. The government believes that unrestricted access to smartphones has greatly increased the obsession with social media, exposing children to harmful content and, in some cases, addictive networks.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah raised the issue during discussions with the vice chancellor of a government university, and sought his opinion on the feasibility and impact of such a move. Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad told NDTV, “We have seen that the government has said in the budget statement in the House that it intends to ban social media use by children below 16 years of age. This is a very important issue in the society, and every family is facing this problem.”
With this move, Karnataka has become the first state in the country to announce a ban on social media use by children. Andhra Pradesh and Goa are two other states that have previously said they are considering similar steps. Karnataka’s state budget has been set at ₹448,004 crore, which will focus on technology-based development, infrastructure development and environmental sustainability.
