I remember being 14 and figuring out who I was through messy online conversations with friends. Banning kids under 16 from social media feels like trying to fix a broken window by boarding up the whole house. Sure, there are real risks—cyberbullying, predators, addiction. I get that. But cutting kids off entirely doesn't teach them how to navigate those dangers. It just pushes them to find unmonitored spaces where nobody's looking out for them. A ban would also ignore how social media helps isolated kids—LGBTQ+ teens in small towns, kids with rare illnesses, young artists finding their community. We'd be throwing that away because some platforms are poorly designed. The real fix is better regulation and digital literacy education, not a blanket ban that treats teenagers like they can't learn. We don't ban cars because crashes happen; we teach people to drive.

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