Published Mar 23, 2026 | 3:12 PM ⚊ Updated Mar 23, 2026 | 3:12 PM
Social media. Representative Image. (iStock)
Synopsis: He said that although laws prohibiting the use of mobile phones in schools are in place, it was not being practised. “For the first time in India, our government has proposed in the Budget that mobile use should be banned for children below 16 years,” he said, while replying to a question raised by MLCs Pratap Nayak and Javare Gowda in the Karnataka Legislative Council.
Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa on Monday, 23 March, said the government is preparing a comprehensive framework to regulate mobile phone and social media usage among students below 16 years.
He said the proposal would be placed before the House in the next session after wider consultations.
He said that although laws prohibiting the use of mobile phones in schools are in place, it was not being practised. “For the first time in India, our government has proposed in the Budget that mobile use should be banned for children below 16 years,” he said, while replying to a question raised by MLCs Pratap Nayak and Javare Gowda in the Karnataka Legislative Council.
The Minister said the government is coordinating with the IT Department, which has formed a committee to examine social media practices, and that detailed guidelines are being prepared.
He however acknowledged that mobile phones cannot be completely eliminated in the present era.
“In today’s AI and modern age, we cannot pull it out at once; we will bring a law on how to impose restrictions,” he said.
Earlier this month, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced that the state will ban social media use for children under 16 to prevent the adverse effects of rising mobile use among children.
“With the objective of preventing adverse effects of increasing mobile usage on children, usage of social media will be banned for children under the age of 16,” Siddaramaiah said during the presentation of the 2026–27 budget.
De-addiction experts and psychologists remain wary of calls for a complete ban on social media, saying technology and digital platforms are now intertwined with nearly every aspect of modern life.
“The primary concern is to ensure that children do not develop behavioural issues due to excessive exposure to social media. This can instead be addressed by creating awareness in schools and among parents about the importance of activities beyond screens — such as physical exercise, maintaining a healthy sleep schedule and engaging in offline hobbies,” said Manoj Sharma, who runs the Service for Healthy Use of Technology (SHUT) Clinic at NIMHANS in Bengaluru, a first-of-its-kind technology de-addiction centre in the country.
He added that these measures could be as effective as imposing a complete ban on social media. Such a ban, he said, could be difficult to achieve as interactions with technology are inevitable.
