Banning Social Media for Teens Under 16? Maybe We’re Asking the Wrong Question.

A few days ago, I came across an old photo of myself at sixteen.

In that photo, I'm surrounded by friends. No filters. No staging. No intention of posting it anywhere. Just a moment captured as it happened.

Looking at it, I felt a sense of nostalgia. Not the kind that says "things were better back then," but the kind that makes you wonder whether our attention belonged to us a little more than it does today.

Most of our memories were built outside. On sports fields, at the beach, in parking lots, at friends' houses, or during spontaneous evenings that nobody had planned. We spent hours together without notifications, without endless feeds, and without algorithms competing for every second of our attention.

Then a question crossed my mind.

If TikTok, Instagram Reels, and Snapchat had existed in their current form when I was sixteen, would my teenage years have looked different?

And more importantly, would I have wanted the government to stop me from using them until I turned sixteen?

If you had asked me that question back then, my answer would have been immediate.

Absolutely not.

I would have thought the idea was ridiculous.

Yet today, as governments around the world debate age restrictions for social media, and as conversations around online safety gain momentum across Canada and North America, I find myself seeing the issue with a lot more nuance.

The concerns are real.

Social pressure. Cyberbullying. Sleep disruption. Constant comparison. The never-ending search for validation. Exposure to harmful or misleading content.

These aren't hypothetical risks.

As an entrepreneur, I'm fascinated by the sophistication of modern algorithms.

As a citizen, that same sophistication raises important questions.

Platforms know exactly how to capture our attention. They understand what keeps us engaged, what triggers an emotional response, and what brings us back repeatedly throughout the day.

Their business model depends on it.

Even in my thirties, while running an agency that operates in this ecosystem every day, I still catch myself opening Instagram to reply to a message and finding myself twenty minutes later watching videos that have absolutely nothing to do with why I opened the app in the first place.

Which leads me to a simple question.

If I occasionally fall into that trap despite understanding how these systems work, what does that look like for a teenager whose brain is still developing?

But this is exactly where the conversation becomes more complicated.

Because social media is not just a problem to solve.

It's also one of the most powerful tools for learning, discovery, and connection ever created.

I've seen young people learn new languages through TikTok. I've seen them discover entrepreneurship, personal finance, artificial intelligence, and career opportunities through creators who make complex topics accessible.

I've also seen social platforms help people find communities where they feel understood, represented, and less alone.

Those benefits are real too.

Which is why I believe we're often asking the wrong question.

The question isn't whether social media is good or bad.

The question is what kind of digital environment we want to build.

For years, the technology industry argued that it could regulate itself.

Yet when governments begin seriously considering restrictions as significant as age-based bans, it should serve as a wake-up call for the entire industry.

The conversation shouldn't be framed as freedom versus restriction.

It should be about responsibility.

Responsibility from platforms.

Responsibility from governments.

Responsibility from parents.

Responsibility from schools.

And yes, responsibility from marketers and advertisers like us.

Personally, I believe one of the biggest priorities should be building true digital literacy.

Teaching young people how to recognize advertising.

Helping them understand how algorithms work.

Explaining sponsored content and creator partnerships.

Learning how to identify AI-generated content.

Developing critical thinking skills around everything they consume online.

Because today's teenagers will grow up in a world where algorithms are embedded into nearly every aspect of daily life.

And that's where my perspective ultimately lands.

When we debate the minimum age for social media access, we tend to focus exclusively on teenagers.

But if we're honest, maybe we should spend a little more time looking at ourselves.

How many adults check their phones before they even get out of bed?

How many spend hours scrolling without realizing where the time went?

If millions of adults struggle to maintain a healthy relationship with these platforms, perhaps the issue isn't only the age of the users.

Perhaps we've collectively accepted a digital model that was never designed around our well-being, but around our attention.

At its core, the challenge isn't simply protecting young people from social media.

The challenge is creating social media platforms that genuinely deserve the trust of young people, their parents, and society as a whole.

Because in the end, the real question may not be whether young people are ready for social media.

The real question is whether social media is ready for young people.