Several countries are now introducing or considering new laws to limit social media use for minors. This follows new data showing that young people in Europe are spending a high number of hours in front of screens.

目前有幾個國家正在引入或考慮新法規，以限制未成年人使用社群媒體。這是由於新數據顯示，歐洲年輕人面對螢幕的時間非常長。

Data from the European Union shows that about 14% of teenagers use screens for eight hours or more every day, and often more than ten hours on weekends. While 48% of young people believe social media helps their mental health, many others report feeling stressed, excluded, or having trouble sleeping. Furthermore, a large number of teenagers have seen fake news, hate speech, and violent content online.

歐盟數據顯示，約有 14% 的青少年每天使用螢幕 8 小時或以上，週末通常更久，會超過 10 小時。雖然 48% 的年輕人認為社群媒體對其心理健康有幫助，但許多其他人則報告感到壓力大、被排擠或有睡眠困難。此外，大量青少年曾在網上看到假新聞、仇恨言論及暴力內容。

Because of these trends, many governments are moving toward stricter laws. Australia introduced a full ban for minors in December 2025, and the UK announced similar rules for those under 16 starting in Spring 2027. In the EU, countries like France, Spain, and Denmark are considering similar bans, while Germany has recommended a total ban for children under 13. These laws are based on the idea that the part of the brain responsible for self-control is not fully developed in teenagers, making them more likely to become addicted to the design of these platforms.

由於這些趨勢，許多政府正趨向採取更嚴格的法律。澳洲於 2025 年 12 月引入了針對未成年人的全面禁令，英國則宣布於 2027 年春季起對 16 歲以下人士實施類似規則。在歐盟，法國、西班牙和丹麥等國正考慮類似禁令，而德國則建議全面禁止 13 歲以下兒童使用。這些法律是基於青少年大腦中負責自我控制的部分尚未完全發育成熟，使其更容易對這些平台的設計產生依賴。

However, experts disagree on whether these bans actually work. A study in the British Medical Journal found that over 85% of teenagers in Australia still accessed restricted sites by lying about their age. Some analysts argue that these laws are like tobacco control; the goal is to make social media less normal over time rather than stopping it immediately. On the other hand, critics emphasize that total bans are too simple and might isolate young people from their friends or push them toward more dangerous parts of the internet.

然而，專家對於這些禁令是否真正有效持有分歧。《英國醫學雜誌》的一項研究發現，澳洲超過 85% 的青少年仍透過謊報年齡來訪問受限網站。部分分析師認為這些法律如同菸草管制；目標是讓社群媒體隨時間變得不再那麼普及，而非立即停止。另一方面，批評者強調全面禁令過於簡化，可能會使年輕人與朋友隔絕，或將他們推向網路中更危險的區域。

The global situation is currently a struggle between using strict laws to ban access and focusing on improving digital literacy and evidence-based policies.

目前的全球局勢是處於一種掙扎，一方面想利用嚴格法律禁止訪問，另一方面則專注於提升數位素養與基於證據的政策。