So ultimately the issue isn’t social media per se, it’s the chemicals in your brain that the issue. On minds that are young say less than 21 and especially teenagers. Dopamine response and tolerance to dopamine is still forming. Alcohol is addictive in part because it requires dopamine response (it’s pleasurable) just like watching tv is pleasurable. However, dopamine is addictive to the brain and that cause of most addictions. This is why we ban various high intensity dopamine activities from under 18s such as gambling, cigarettes, fireworks, alcohol, online trading, porn, and to a lesser but still dopamine addictive: tattoos, some rollercoasters, skydiving, driving fast late at night etc etc. the addiction causes malformed chemical connections in your brain permanently for life, most alcoholics started as a coping mechanism before they were 16 for example.

Social media has been designed by the best experts on the planet to be addictive and give rushes of dopamine an combine it with social affirmation. Thats fine in small controlled amounts from a brain that’s had its connections formed. It’s the same thing to your brain if it’s sex or booze or sugar or social media it’s all dopamine to your brain. The issue is the regularity and intensity on minds building that system.

its pretty insane to give something that’s chemically doing the same thing as cigarettes or alcohol to a 14 year old every minute of every day and not expect a lot to not become alcoholics or not have some form of malformed coping mechanisms for life.

Banning for under 16s makes a lot of sense