Official Dutch guidelines set minimum age for social media at 15
By Simone Jacobs
The caretaker government has officially advised parents and educators in the Netherlands to prevent children under the age of 15 from using social media. In the official guidelines, the state also gives a recommended minimum age for a child to receive a mobile phone and hours of screen time for different age groups.
Minimum age limit for social media use in the Netherlands
Under the “Guidelines for healthy and responsible screen and social media use”, the most important recommendation is the one suggesting that children should be at least 15 before they are allowed to use social media platforms such as Instagram or TikTok.
While it may not be a law, it is official government advice based on research by scientists, experts and social organisations, which comes after calls for a social media age limit gathered more and more support.
“Social media can be fun and connecting, but its addictive effect also has a huge downside. Almost 13% of young people are even at risk of problematic social media use,” wrote the State Secretary for Youth, Prevention and Sport, Vincent Karremans, in an official statement. Some problems that social media can cause include sleep problems, panic attacks, depression, poor concentration and negative self-image.
“We want children to be able to grow up healthy and safe, and support parents in this. That is why we are now introducing clear, unambiguous guidelines to help them with this,” Karremans said. The recommended age is in line with social media age limits in other countries.
Dutch government encourages healthy screen use
The guidelines also urge parents not to give their children a smartphone before they reach Group 8 in primary school. A public campaign is also set to launch later this year to help parents navigate giving their child a phone for the first time and how to protect them online.
Recommendations for maximum screen time for different age groups are also given: children under the age of 2 should not use screens, while youth aged 12 years and older should have no more than three hours of screen time per day. The initiative also emphasises healthy screen use, by encouraging a balance between screen use and other activities so that children have an overall positive experience.
Majority of Dutch children want ban on social media
In a survey conducted by UNICEF Nederland, more than 1.000 young people between the ages of 10 and 18 were asked about their experiences with social media. When asked about a possible social media ban, 69 percent said they were in favour.
28 percent of participants even stated that they believe social media should be banned for children under the age of 12, with some stating that children that young should “still be playing outside instead of on their phones”. Some reasons given for agreeing with a social media ban were how addictive, unsafe and harmful they found it to be and how it was bad for their mental wellbeing.
In a survey of Dutch schools where phones were banned, it was found that students were better able to concentrate, spoke to each other more and experienced less bullying.
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Editor for the Netherlands at IamExpat Media. Simone studied Genetics and Zoology at the University of Pretoria in South Africa before moving to the Netherlands, where she has been working as a writer and editor since 2022. One thing she loves more than creating content is consuming it, mainly by reading books by the dozen. Other than being a book dragon, she is also a nature lover and enjoys hiking and animal training. Read more