Last week's blog was about freedom of speech. This one is about restrictions.

We don’t let 13-year-olds buy alcohol, cigarettes, or lottery tickets because those products carry risks that require a certain level of maturity. So why are they allowed to sign up for social media?

Social platforms aren’t harmless playgrounds; they’re engineered to hook attention, drive comparison, and often expose kids to content they aren’t ready for. We’re seeing the effects, an increase in self-harm among girls and externalized harm among boys, although most young men do not become violent. They are a generation struggling with self-worth tied to likes and follows.

Banning phones in schools has shown measurable improvements. So I think it’s time we treat social media the way we do other age-restricted products. Setting the minimum age at 16, or better yet 18, would give teens more time to develop the resilience and judgment needed to navigate online life.

Freedom of expression matters, but so does protecting young people during their most vulnerable years. Social media should be a privilege earned with age.