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Denmark has become the latest country to take a firm stance against children’s use of social media. The Danish government announced on Friday that it will ban the use of social media for children under the age of 15, allowing parents to make exceptions for those aged 13 and 14 on select platforms.
The decision follows Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s call in her parliamentary opening speech last month for stricter digital restrictions aimed at protecting children’s mental health.
Frederiksen said the move was designed to “give children their childhood back,” pointing to the rise in anxiety, loneliness and attention problems among young people linked to social media use.
Denmark joins a widening list of countries taking legislative action to shield children from the effects of online platforms. France already requires parental consent for users under 15, while Australia has gone further with a ban for under-16s, backed by mandatory age verification and steep penalties for noncompliant tech firms.
In Norway, the government is considering a proposal to set a minimum age limit of 15 for social media access. The plan remains under public consultation and has not yet been enacted into law.
A growing body of research supports Denmark’s move. In May 2025, a University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) study tracking nearly 12,000 children aged 9 to 10 over three years found that increased social media use was clearly associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms.
The study revealed that as children’s daily screen time rose from about seven minutes to more than an hour, signs of depression increased by roughly 35 percent on average.
A recent Ipsos Education Monitor 2025 survey shows strong global support for tighter social media rules for minors.
According to the findings, 71% of people worldwide favor banning social media for children under 14. The highest support levels were recorded in Indonesia (87%), France (85%), Italy (83%), Spain (82%), and Colombia (80%).
Turkey ranks 11th in global rankings with 76% of participants supporting restrictions on social media use for children under 14.
The same Ipsos study found that 55% of respondents worldwide believe smartphones should be banned in schools. Support is highest in France (80%), Ireland (70%), Spain (69%), Italy (67%), and Peru (65%), while in Türkiye, 53% of respondents share the same opinion.
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