Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.
Korean parents welcome gov't move to curb minors' social media use but questions remain
Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Kick, YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, Reddit, Threads and X app icons are displayed on a mobile phone in this 2025 photo illustration. Reuters-Yonhap
By Bahk Eun-ji
Despite welcoming proposal, parents still have concerns
A new plan by Korea's media watchdog to curb social media use by minors drew mixed reactions from parents, with some cautiously optimistic and others raising concerns.
On Thursday, the Korea Communications Commission said it was considering restricting children under 14 from creating social media accounts and limiting addictive platform features for users under 19.
Hong Eun-hee, a parent of a middle school student in Seoul, welcomed the proposal, saying she hopes it will help her child and other teenagers spend less time on social media.
"They watch [YouTube] Shorts and [Instagram] Reels whenever they have a spare moment. They say they will watch for 10 minutes, but it becomes 20 minutes or an hour," Hong said. "They have difficulty controlling it themselves."
She said her child often checks her phone while doing homework and resists putting it away before bed.
"When parents try to control it on their own, it ends in a fight," Hong added.
Parents also cite sleep deprivation, declining concentration, cyberbullying and exposure to gambling, sexual content and other harmful material as major concerns.
Middle school student Lee Sae-ron said she spends less than an hour a day on Instagram and YouTube, but some of her friends spend around three hours on Instagram and stay up late scrolling through their feeds.
"One friend finishes everything she has to do and then uses Instagram until very late," Lee said. "She is always tired in the morning."
It is not the first time Korea has sought to reduce the online activity of minors.
In 2011, the government introduced a law barring children under 16 from accessing online games during nighttime hours. The law was abolished in 2022 after businesses and industry groups argued it infringed on individual rights and harmed Korea's gaming and culture industries.
Outside Korea, more than 20 countries have adopted different approaches to limiting children's access to social media.
Australia has introduced the toughest measures so far. Since Dec. 10, 2025, age-restricted social media platforms have been required to take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under 16 from creating or maintaining accounts.
Children and parents are not penalized, with responsibility instead placed on the platforms. Australian regulators said about 4.7 million under-16s were covered by the restrictions during the first half of December.
President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a government policy briefing at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Wednesday. Joint Press Corps
The European Union has stopped short of setting a bloc-wide minimum age.
Under the Digital Services Act, platforms must reduce risks to minors and are barred from showing them targeted advertising. The European Commission has also developed a privacy-preserving age verification system and is examining whether harmonized age limits for social media are needed.
Brazil’s Digital Statute for Children and Adolescents, enacted in 2025, strengthens age checks and platform accountability rather than imposing a blanket social media ban.
The framework requires online services to adopt safeguards for minors and gives parents greater control over their children’s accounts.
Despite welcoming the proposal, parents interviewed by The Korea Times said they still had concerns.
Lee Hye-won, a mother of a fourth grader in Seoul, said children would probably find ways around the restrictions, including using their parents' accounts.
Park Sun-kyung, who has an elementary school-aged son in Seoul, questioned what would qualify as social media.
"Would KakaoTalk be included? What happens when companies release slightly modified services under a different name?" she said.
That concern is growing as children move beyond conventional social media platforms. Hong said artificial intelligence (AI)-powered character chat services can be even more immersive than Instagram because they offer personalized conversations and a private virtual world.
“Instagram is not the only problem anymore,” she said. “AI character apps can be even more frightening because once children become absorbed in that world, it is very difficult for parents to pull them out.”