Vietnamese artist Thanh Bùi: Banning social media for under-16s is crucial for mental health

Artist and educator Thanh Bùi has voiced strong support for banning social media use among children under 16, emphasizing that the issue transcends technology and impacts mental health, family education, and the future of a generation. He argues that social media platforms are designed to maximize user engagement rather than protect children.

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I fully support the ban on children under 16 using social media.

Bùi differentiates between necessary technological literacy, such as learning coding or artificial intelligence, and the use of platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. He criticizes the common parental misconception that allowing children to use these platforms constitutes early exposure to technology. "It's not the same as a child learning programming or computer science," he stated, contrasting it with passively scrolling through short videos.

He expressed deep concern over the addictive nature of social media, which operates on dopamine-driven mechanisms and behavioral science. Bùi believes children, especially those as young as five or six, lack the cognitive capacity to resist these systems. The curated, often idealized, content on social media leads to harmful comparisons, causing children to develop negative self-perceptions, body image issues, and identity crises at a young age.

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This is no longer a story about technology but a matter of mental health, family education, and the future of a generation.

Within his own educational institutions, Bùi has observed significant negative consequences. "Never have I seen so many children with mental health problems as I do now," he remarked. He described students who, despite academic success, suffer from low self-esteem, difficulty expressing themselves, and a distorted view of success, citing an instance where an 18-year-old student believed they could become a millionaire through a $200 online course promising rapid wealth.

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Any social media platform that is not designed to protect children but only wants to keep people staying as long as possible.

Bùi stressed the importance of teaching children core values and distinguishing between reality and the often-glamorized online world. He believes parents must lead by example, as children learn more from observing adult behavior than from mere instructions. The call for a ban reflects a growing global concern about the impact of social media on youth development.

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Children learn from what adults do, not just from what they say.