Smartphone Free Childhood SA urges a ban on smartphones, social media for under-16s

The global policy wave to protect children from the harmful effects of social media has shifted from debate to decisive action, presenting an urgent challenge to South African policymakers. Following Australia's mandatory ban on major social media platforms for children under 16, a move Malaysia plans to replicate from 2026, the international trend is something South Africa needs to hop on before we fall woefully behind. The government and schools must adopt protective policies to safeguard the need for smartphone-free childhoods.

Smartphone Free Childhood South Africa (SFC-SA) – the local chapter of a growing global movement – is calling on leaders and parents to seize the current moment to implement this culture-shift, and thereby setting a new course for digital well-being ahead of the new year.

Enforcement is (and has to be) the new standard

While South Africa continues to debate the impact of screen time, other nations are taking decisive action to enforce age limits. Starting next month, Australia’s new law requires platforms like Meta, TikTok, and YouTube to deactivate accounts belonging to users under 16, backed by fines of up to AU$50 million for non-compliance. Following closely, Malaysia has just announced plans to implement a similar ban in 2026, mandating that tech platforms introduce eKYC (electronic Know Your Customer) identity verification to enforce the 16-year age limit.

"This international trend sends a non-negotiable red flag to South African policymakers and parents," says Kate Farina, head of strategy at SFC-SA. "Countries are recognising that social media is 'harmful by design,' built to insidiously capture attention and maximise profit at the expense of a child’s well-being. We cannot afford to be left behind, watching from the sidelines while our children fall victim to factors that have consequences that stretch far beyond the immediate issues. We need to focus on protecting the entirety of childhood from age-inappropriate digital exposure, not just the school day."

The hidden risk: Fuelling GBV from an early age

The issue goes beyond mental health; it directly impacts the foundation of a safe society. SFC-SA highlights that early, unsupervised access to smartphones (not just social media) creates a fertile ground for harmful attitudes and behaviours, often directly linked to later relationship risks and exposure to gender-based violence (GBV):

• Sexualised content: Children encounter sexualised or pornographic material long before they are emotionally ready, normalising unrealistic, violent, and coercive behaviours that also increases their vulnerability to direct exploitation.
• Aggression and acceptance: Research shows a correlation between highly addictive online pornography use and an increased acceptance of sexual aggression.
• Cyber-harassment: Digital devices enable new forms of gender-based harassment, including non-consensual sharing of intimate images and cyber-bullying, behaviours strongly linked to offline, physical GBV.

A UNICEF survey found that among South African children aged 9-17, 70 % use the internet without parental consent, 25 % have added unknown contacts, and 67 % of those exposed to sexual images encountered them online.

“When we limit early smartphone access, we are directly reducing the exposure to the very content that feeds into the building blocks of GBV,” says Farina. "It’s an act of upstream prevention that policy and institutional- as well as parental action can enforce."

The time for a policy reset is now

The holiday season and the turning of the calendar year present the best strategic window for both legislative bodies and families to make this crucial policy shift:

• For parents: The December holidays are the perfect time for families to sign and implement the Parent Pact – a commitment to delaying smartphone and social media access until high school and the age of 16, respectively. It's a chance to encourage real-world bonds, embrace boredom, and grow real skills like empathy and problem-solving, without the constant interruption of a device.
• For schools & government: Policymakers must adopt, join and sign up to register on the smartphone-free schools model, in line with UNESCO's finding that at least 79 education systems globally now enforce such bans. This creates a distraction-free learning environment where learners can focus and thrive at a time where better education-outcomes are sorely needed.

"The goal is not to be anti-tech,” says Farina. “The goal is to be pro age-appropriate tech. Many things in this world are delayed in the same manner for children already – this isn’t a new way of life that we need to adopt.

“We must choose to build a smartphone-free childhood across the board – one that allows for slow, creative, and secure emotional development. By making this commitment now, we can ensure South African children start the new year with a foundation of digital resilience, supported by both policy, institutional and parental action."