India’s recent National Economic Survey recommended the country consider age-based limits on social media. This proposal was accompanied by warnings of the dangers of digital addiction and tactics used by large platforms to keep younger users online.
The 2025-2026 edition of the survey, released by the Ministry of Finance, suggested that policies on age-based access limits “may be considered” as “younger users are more vulnerable to compulsive use and harmful content”.
“Platforms should be made responsible for enforcing age verification and age-appropriate defaults, particularly for social media, gambling apps, auto-play features and targeted advertising”, read the survey.
The study further noted that research on social media addiction “is strongly associated with anxiety, depression, low self-esteem and cyberbullying stress, with multiple Indian and global studies confirming its high prevalence among those aged 15-24″.
India becomes the latest country to take aim at social media use among younger users. Policymakers in Indonesia, Denmark and the UK have all suggested taking action in this area. Australia, meanwhile, implemented a nationwide ban on social media accounts for anyone under the age of 16.
Reuters however noted such a ban in India would be a major blow for companies like Meta Platforms and Google.
Research company DataReportal estimates YouTube has 500 million users in India, Facebook has 403 million and Instagram has 481 million.
While recommendations in the survey are not binding, they are taken under consideration and are discussed by the country’s government.
Source: Mobile World Live
Image Credit: Stock Image
