Under-18s should be banned from social media, says the head of Switzerland’s German-speaking school principals’ association.
Thomas Minder, association president, claims young people require more protection from the “addictive hold” of online sites, likening smartphone addiction to alcohol and tobacco addiction.
Even grown-ups have trouble using these apps responsibly, Minder explained to Tamedia. Do we want algorithms that are programmed to grab the brains of our kids?
The argument for social-media bans for children tends to coincide with demands to prohibit mobile phones from schools, he said — though he characterised such moves as “political window-dressing” by ministers of education. Instead, the effort, he said, should be made to protect children from the overuse of smartphones — and specifically from the clutches of social-media algorithms.
Public opinion would seem to be in his favour. A poll released in May 2025 by the Berner Generationenhaus indicated that 80% of the Swiss interviewed favour prohibiting social media for people under 16. Support for a ban on mobile phones at schools was almost as strong.
In March, the Swiss upper chamber requested the government to examine whether limiting access to platforms like Instagram and TikTok for those below 16 would safeguard the young generation. Australia, which was a leader in this kind of regulation, has already acted to ban users under 16 from social media platforms like X, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram.
