Can social media bans protect young people’s mental health? Early research suggests that bans aren’t the answer

Kids have found ways around most of the safeguards meant to keep them off social media platforms.

By: Ari Lightman, Carnegie Mellon University, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: October 16, 2026

Words: 1,433

Last Updated: 13 hours, 42 minutes ago

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By Ari Lightman, Carnegie Mellon University

The year 2026 has been an expensive one for social media platforms.

Since March, YouTube and Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, have settled or paid out in multiple lawsuits to the tune of more than US$17 billion for allegedly acting negligently, deliberately designing their platforms to hook kids and misleading the public about safety and privacy. If these suits are any indication of …

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