Governments across Europe and Latin America are reevaluating the role of social media in children’s lives amid mounting concerns that digital platforms are displacing play, face-to-face contact, and independence, with experts warning of mental health risks and societal shifts.
Across Europe and Latin America, governments are debating how far the state should go in limiting children’s access to social media. The issue is no longer being framed as a narrow concern about screen time. It is increasingly seen as a broader question about whether digital platforms are shaping childhood in ways that displace play, face-to-face contact and the freedom to explore without constant supervision.
That argument has been sharpened by Jonathan Haidt’s book “The Anxious Generation”, which has helped turn a long-running worry into a mainstream policy debate. Haidt argues that childhood has shifted from a period rooted in free play to one dominated by screens, and that the change has coincided with rising anxiety, depression and other mental health problems among young people since 2010. His case is not that technology should be rejected outright, but that smartphones and social media reached children before they were ready for them.
Haidt identifies two linked failures. In the real world, children are often given less independence than previous generations, with fewer chances to take risks, solve problems and build resilience. Online, by contrast, they are frequently left exposed to services designed to hold their attention for as long as possible. The result, he argues, is a combination that can affect sleep, concentration, social development and self-esteem.
The broader criticism of social media is not limited to Haidt. A report cited by GQ Mexico said the US Department of Health and Human Services has compared social media addiction with nicotine dependence and suggested warning labels similar to those used on tobacco products. Separately, El País reported in April that 23% of secondary school students in Catalonia were at high risk of compulsive internet use, underscoring how sharply the problem is being felt in parts of Europe.
The debate is also becoming more urgent because critics of the current digital environment say it rewards comparison over connection. Platforms rarely show life as it is; they present selected fragments designed to provoke reaction, envy or approval. That, in turn, can leave users feeling disconnected even as they remain constantly plugged in. In Mexico, where the discussion has not yet reached the same political intensity as in some European countries, the warning is clear: if adults do not set firmer limits, the next generation will be shaped by a system built to hold attention rather than nurture childhood.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
