Rethinking the Idea of a Social Media License for Young People
IT:U Professor Christoph Frauenberger shares expert insights on the current public debate
Public discussions on a potential “Social Media License” for children and adolescents have gained momentum in Austria and beyond. In response to recent comments by media scholar Elke Höfler on ZIB 2 and subsequent media coverage, IT:U Professor Christoph Frauenberger reflects on why the debate is important, where it falls short, and how Europe can build healthier digital futures for young people.
Growing Awareness of Digital Protection
What colleague Höfler from the University of Graz addresses reflects a steadily increasing awareness of the need to protect children and adolescents as they interact with digital technologies. Countries such as Greece and Australia have reacted to this debate by attempting to legally codify existing age restrictions for social media platforms. This has led to a discussion about state prohibitions, their enforceability, possible age limits, the educational role of schools, and the responsibility of parents. In this context, the notion of a digital parallel world often appears, along with comparisons to traditional media, illegal drugs, or the driver’s license required for cars.
It is indeed time for societies to demonstrate resilience and to understand digital technology, not only for the protection of children, as a political arena. In this sense, the debate is welcome, and the following thoughts are intended as a constructive contribution.
Beyond Social Media: Understanding AI in Young People’s Lives
First, Professor Frauenberger argues that the term parallel world is not particularly useful. We all live in hybrid realities in which very different perceptions merge into a single lived experience. A sharp distinction between the real world and the virtual world therefore does not appear meaningful. Second, narrowing digital technology to social media platforms is not helpful. Although social media is a very formative experience for children and adolescents, it obscures the broader question of how we want to understand our relationships with digital technologies. This includes, for example, the many roles artificial intelligence already plays for young people, ranging from intimate confidant to personal therapist, from search engine for the internet to a powerful tool for completing homework. AI appears in the lived reality of many young people in varied and far-reaching forms.
Limits of Comparing Social Media to Driving or Drugs
Comparisons between social media and other media forms or illegal drugs are not entirely incorrect, as they highlight important characteristics. In traditional media, for example, important control mechanisms have developed over time that are missing in social media. The intentionally designed addictive potential of social media platforms and their effects on development are also well documented. Nevertheless, one should be cautious about approaching digital technologies with the same control strategies.
Why a Social Media License Falls Short
The proposal for a social media license illustrates this clearly. While the competencies required to drive a car have remained comparatively stable over the past decades, the competencies needed to navigate social media safely change rapidly and continuously. Five years ago, who would have thought that generative AI would so quickly reach a level of quality and prevalence that digital images and videos can no longer be considered authentic experiences. A school issued license tied to a single examination cannot provide the necessary timeliness required for dealing with technological futures.
Education and Adult Learning Are Key
This does not mean that education is not one of the keys to ensuring resilient and self-determined citizens in the digital age. The redesign of digital basic education is a step in the right direction, but the inertia of the educational system prevents it from taking effect quickly. In addition, a strong initiative in adult education is urgently necessary, because only when teachers, parents, and society send shared signals can protection and education for children be ensured.
Legal Regulation and Its Normative Power
Legal regulations will certainly also have a role to play. Age restrictions are one possibility, but they must be designed with nuance. In analogy to alcohol, we know different limits for beverages with different levels of strength. The aim here is to recognize the self-determined digital reality of adolescents on one hand and to deliberately limit risks on the other. More important than perfect enforceability is the normative signal society sends regarding what is considered a risk.
Including Young People in Decision Making
When designing laws and rules regarding the use of digital devices in schools and educational institutions, it is essential to involve young people directly in shaping these rules. Children and adolescents should work with experts from their own lived reality to develop strategies for how we can build healthy relationships with digital technologies. The more rigid the possible legal rules become, the more difficult it is to conduct such negotiation processes on equal terms.
Holding Technology Companies Accountable
A far greater lever lies in demanding accountability from technology manufacturers. The European Union has established itself as a pioneer in regulation. The GDPR, the AI Act, and the Digital Services Act may not be perfect, but they represent important steps toward a resilient and self-confident community of values. This also includes all efforts to regain sovereignty and the ability to shape digital infrastructures, of which social media platforms have long been a part. The importance of such digital sovereignty is demonstrated by the recent report that the International Criminal Court is ending its collaboration with Microsoft because the company blocked the email addresses of a chief prosecutor under political pressure.
A European Vision for Digital Futures
Recognizing children and adolescents as particularly in need of protection in a digital world must be understood as part of a broader agenda to shape digital futures in line with a European idea of self-determination, security, and solidarity. The diversity of Europe could become the key to success if its many levers and components can be moved in a suitably coordinated way and prove more resilient than monolithic solution.