10/12/2025
Digital Media Ban: A Parent’s Perspective - Holding Both Sides
So the news has dropped about the new digital media restrictions for minors, and honestly… I’m still catching up on all the details myself. I’m not here to dance on tables celebrating, and I’m not here to panic either. I’m just a parent trying to process what this means for our kids in real life.
Today I saw a teen saying, “The government is taking away our rights. This is how we communicate with our friends.”
And that hit me. Because for them, this isn’t just “screen time.” This is their social world, their friendships, their place to belong.
At the same time, as parents, we’ve also seen the flip side. The mental load. The pressure. The comparison. The algorithms that don’t care about childhood innocence. The late-night spirals that turn our kids into zombies the next morning.
So maybe… both sides have a point.
Here’s where I’m landing for now:
The Pros
• A chance to pull our kids back into real-world rhythm, rest, and relationships
• A reset button for habits none of us knew how to control anymore
• Space for creativity, play, boredom (yes, that sacred thing), and face-to-face connection
• Less noise shaping their identity and more room for us, their families, to speak into who they’re becoming
The Cons
• Real fear from teens who feel unheard, unseen, or cut off from their support networks
• Sudden change that doesn’t consider the nuances of every family
• The risk of this feeling more like control than care
• The reality that digital life is part of their future whether we like it or not - and we can’t shield them forever
So instead of shouting “love it” or “hate it,” maybe we take this moment as an invitation:
Talk with our kids. Hear their hearts. Explain ours. Meet in the middle.
Not every law will be perfect, but every conversation can be a bridge.
We don’t have to villainise teens for being upset, and we don’t have to villainise parents for being relieved. We’re all just trying to raise humans in a world that’s changing faster than any of us can keep up with.
Let’s stay open. Stay gracious. And keep learning together. ❤️
