A Bahrain-based advocacy group has voiced support for a proposed legislation that would prohibit children under the age of 15 from creating social media accounts.
Smartphone Free Childhood Bahrain – an Instagram community launched last year by Royal Bahrain Hospital consultant psychiatrist Dr Gardenia Jasim Alsaffar – connects parents and works to raise awareness about the dangers of excessive smartphone and social media use among children. More than 250 people are currently part of the community.
“It is alarming to see a surge in youngsters coming to see me compared to previous years,” Dr Alsaffar told the GDN.
“I went from seeing one child a month to having adolescents and children making up half of my clinic, and so a proposal like this is something I have been awaiting for a long time.”
Yesterday, the Shura Council backed amendments to the Child Law and referred the legislation to the Cabinet.
Dr Alsaffar explained that excessive and unsupervised screen time can affect children and teenagers in multiple ways, including physically, mentally, emotionally and socially.
“Heavy screen time leads children to compare themselves with online posts that show only a single, curated snapshot of someone’s life, rather than reality,” she said, noting that many of her young patients have developed anxiety and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as a result.
She also highlighted the rise in cyberbullying in recent years.
“Most bullying happens behind a screen, and people don’t really see the effect of their words,” she said.
“In a country like Bahrain, bullying is not limited to one school; other schools often become aware of the situation.”
As a mother of two, aged nine and 11, Dr Alsaffar said these concerns have influenced her own parenting choices. Her children do not have mobile phones and are not allowed on social media.
“They are allowed to play online games, but mostly under my supervision,” she said, adding that her children have come to understand the reasoning behind these limits over time.
She has also delivered talks at schools across the kingdom to raise awareness among parents and students about the risks associated with excessive screen time and social media use.
Dr Alsaffar warned that excessive screen exposure can impair healthy brain development in children, particularly in the early years when the brain is most sensitive to external influences.
Over-reliance on digital content can hinder creativity, critical thinking and independent problem-solving, as screens often provide instant solutions rather than encouraging exploration.
“The message is not to be anti-technology, because technology is not going to slow down,” she said.
“But we need to make sure our children are learning how to think critically and constructively. They are the ones who will be affected the most, and if parents, professionals and all sectors work together, we can limit the damage.”
Under the proposed law, children under 15 would be prohibited from creating accounts on digital platforms while usage by those aged 15 to 18 would be regulated under defined safeguards. Currently, children as young as 13 can access some of the most popular sites.
Platforms would be required to provide effective tools for verifying users’ ages and enforcing age-based restrictions.
In addition, they would be legally obligated to implement appropriate child-protection measures, tailored to the nature of their services and the level of risk associated with their content.
Following Australia’s launch of an under-16 social media ban last month, European countries are now debating whether to introduce similar restrictions.
Since December 10, children under 16 in Australia have been prohibited from creating or maintaining accounts on major platforms, including Facebook, X, Threads, Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, Twitch, Reddit, and YouTube.
About 550,000 accounts were blocked by Meta during the first days of Australia’s social media ban, according to the BBC.
For more information on the effects of social media on children, follow @smartphonefreechildhoodbahrain on Instagram.
&uuid=(email))