Thailand is again studying whether to introduce a law barring children under the age of 16 from using social media, in a move aimed at reducing excessive screen time among young users. The proposal could lead to tighter regulation of platform access for minors if implemented.

Get today's headlines by email

The idea was raised by Deputy Prime Minister Songsak Thongsri on 21 June in his role as chairman of the board of the Thai Health Promotion Foundation, known as ThaiHealth. He cited foundation data showing that more than 93 percent of Thai people use the internet, with an average daily online time of 7 hours and 54 minutes. ThaiHealth also reported that among children aged 0 to 2, about 72.6 percent have more than one hour of screen time per day, a level it warns may affect learning, communication and age-appropriate development.

ThaiHealth highlighted wider risks for children and young people online, including cyberbullying, sexual exploitation, online gambling and exposure to advertising that encourages risky behaviour such as vaping. The agency said these risks can negatively affect mental health, increase stress and anxiety, and shape daily habits, potentially contributing to broader social issues over time.

The foundation said it will examine the impact and feasibility of measures to limit how children and teenagers use online media, drawing on international examples. It specifically pointed to Australia, which has introduced a ban on social media use for under-16s and imposed penalties on platforms that fail to properly screen child users.

ThaiHealth is also working with the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society to strengthen protections for children online. This includes developing policy, monitoring illegal websites, improving systems for reporting harmful content, and encouraging more positive and creative use of technology. The programme focuses on four areas: strengthening media and digital literacy, developing learning tools, running campaigns to promote healthy media habits, and building cooperation between government, business and civil society.

Child health specialists cited by ThaiHealth recommend that parents set screen time limits appropriate to a child’s age, encourage physical activity and play, and promote shared family learning. They stress that balanced development across physical, emotional, social and intellectual areas is important, and that building digital resilience from early childhood is key to protecting young people from online harm.

Picture courtesy of The Thaiger

Join the discussion?

Already a member?

Adapted by ASEAN Now The Thaiger 24 June 2026

View full article

If they do that here, crime will go through the roof.

It is amazing. In many countries Government are doing the same and in some countries even the mobile is already forbidden in school. But in most Western countries parents take care of their kids while in Thailand a lot of kids not even live with their parentsm but with their grandparents or other familymembers. Besides that there is no enforcement of any law in THailand. Kids and grown ups can do as they they want. If the screen time is taken away from the under 16 I am wondering how many kids will ride a motorcycle instead. Now in my neighbourhood there are already a lot kids some even not older that 12 year who are speeding in the soi or drive with a passenger! on the road. I am not sure what is more dangerous, screentime or the traffic.

Vaping is named in the article, but that is illegal in Thailand, so why is that kind of content not removed by the Computer Crime Act??? Smoking, alcohol, sex, violence etc is also an issue, not only vaping.

I have said 10 yers ago or even more already that the smartphone was the worst invention ever. Everybody seems to be a zombie. wherever you go everybody is looking on their screens. They want to know everything from everybody and seems that they want to be important, while they have developed a lack of social skills.. I am wondering how I grew up without this phone, but my childhood was much more fun than the kids have now. We had real friends, no digital, we had real fun by playing outside, we learned to think and find solutions, solve problems and fightings.. But nowadays kids are missing the skills. Parents will not control them as they are addicted too..

Surely in Thailand it is almost impossible to implement this idea

It didn't work in Australia, it is being implemented in the UK soon, it won't work there either and it certainly won't work in Thailand, where the kids are totally hooked on Tick Tock and Facebook, to name just two?

Good luck with that.Can't get them to even wear a helmet on a M/c 🤣

4 hours ago, phetphet said:

If they do that here, crime will go through the roof.

They are already some of the most bored beings on the planet - they have zero drive and no dreams. Taking away their only love, social media and stupidity in video form, will leave them with nothing.

It hasn't really worked anywhere else, and in Thailand even less likely: best result is it just doesn't work and they manage to go online anyway, worst result it actually works and now you have armies of bored teenagers roaming the streets causing trouble. Violent teenager gangs are already too common as it is (including guns and knives) - imagine just how bad it'll get if there's even more of them.

30 minutes ago, PingRoundTheWorld said:

It hasn't really worked anywhere else, and in Thailand even less likely: best result is it just doesn't work and they manage to go online anyway, worst result it actually works and now you have armies of bored teenagers roaming the streets causing trouble. Violent teenager gangs are already too common as it is (including guns and knives) - imagine just how bad it'll get if there's even more of them.

Regarding it's success you're right.........due to workarounds, lack of action by platforms etc ................the ban simply isn't effective......so to date no one knows what the impact could be.....positive or negative.

1 hour ago, Smokey and the Bandit said:

It didn't work in Australia, it is being implemented in the UK soon, it won't work there either and it certainly won't work in Thailand, where the kids are totally hooked on Tick Tock and Facebook, to name just two?

It’s working ok in Australia. Yes some kids will work around it but it seems most are ok. It saves their mental health which is what it is about. Kids topping themselves at pre teen age has to be prevented!

13 minutes ago, Brettoj said:

It’s working ok in Australia. Yes some kids will work around it but it seems most are ok. It saves their mental health which is what it is about. Kids topping themselves at pre teen age has to be prevented!

While there is certainly an issue with mental health and suicides as you say, the ban in Australia is not working as intended.

From AI...

A major independent study released by the Molly Rose Foundation revealed staggering non-compliance:

61% of Australian children aged 12 to 15 who had social media accounts before the ban still have active access to one or more of them.

The world's largest tech platforms have successfully retained the vast majority of their underage users. Specifically, 53% of previous TikTok users, 53% of YouTube users, and 52% of Instagram users under 16 have maintained access to their accounts.

Quote

"from using social media, in a move aimed at reducing excessive screen time among young users."

Bro, I bought 3 children tablets for "School". BS you know what they do on them? They play games and watch videos. You take away social media and they will just play more games, watch more videos or find an exploit around the ban.

Additionally the parents seem to actually like the kid being distracted as they give the parents a break and aren't bothering them because they are bored.

Plus the parents like to have the free time to post on social media, watch videos and play games

The social media ban only partly worked in Australia. Half the kids there found workarounds facilitated by the fact that the social media companies were only paying lip service to the ban. Those kids that complied with the ban had a myriad of other activities to turn to which are not available to kids in Thailand. That outcome, combined with the fact that in Thailand so many laws are not enforced, means there's no chance of a social media ban here working -- especially as many of the parents are as addicted as their kids.

A ridiculous copycat proposal. Youngsters, from an early age, have always found a way around such measures, and always will.

The bans work. Some people think they're aimed at cutting off the present 14-16 year olds but really it's all about slowing down the future proliferation of social media by those who are now in the 8-10 bracket.

The buzz is in "mass communication". Strip it back to small group messaging and it loses its allure. Tik Tok videos with six viewers just doesn't hit the mark.

Sure you will have a hard core group (say 20%) that delight in avoiding the ban but if the majority can't be bothered that is success.

4 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

It is amazing. In many countries Government are doing the same and in some countries even the mobile is already forbidden in school. But in most Western countries parents take care of their kids while in Thailand a lot of kids not even live with their parentsm but with their grandparents or other familymembers. Besides that there is no enforcement of any law in THailand. Kids and grown ups can do as they they want. If the screen time is taken away from the under 16 I am wondering how many kids will ride a motorcycle instead. Now in my neighbourhood there are already a lot kids some even not older that 12 year who are speeding in the soi or drive with a passenger! on the road. I am not sure what is more dangerous, screentime or the traffic.

Vaping is named in the article, but that is illegal in Thailand, so why is that kind of content not removed by the Computer Crime Act??? Smoking, alcohol, sex, violence etc is also an issue, not only vaping.

I have said 10 yers ago or even more already that the smartphone was the worst invention ever. Everybody seems to be a zombie. wherever you go everybody is looking on their screens. They want to know everything from everybody and seems that they want to be important, while they have developed a lack of social skills.. I am wondering how I grew up without this phone, but my childhood was much more fun than the kids have now. We had real friends, no digital, we had real fun by playing outside, we learned to think and find solutions, solve problems and fightings.. But nowadays kids are missing the skills. Parents will not control them as they are addicted too..

Surely in Thailand it is almost impossible to implement this idea

Agreed. Too many children are given phones to keep them busy, while the parents are also on their own instead of interacting. the phones, like the grandmas here, are the babysitters. There are good things about social media as the children do learn skills using the phones but their usage is over the top. Like you mentioned, before phones we actually played and talked with each other, in person.

My ex bought my daughter a phone when she was 5, but I wouldn't let her use it while she was with me. The same goes for now at 9. The phone is left at her mom's house, and my daughter told me it's mostly what she does while there, while her mom is on hers, talking to her husband or various boyfriends. My daughter will ask her to make some food as she's hungry, and her favorite line to her is "wait a minute", which turns into an hour.The same with that scooter driving. I see three under aged children on a scooter, all without helmets, flying through the village over the speed limit. This will never change, nor will the road deaths daily.

As far as the OP, like all things here, enforcement will rarely if ever happen, as the officials look the other way when all sorts of things are happening.

3 hours ago, Smokey and the Bandit said:

It didn't work in Australia, it is being implemented in the UK soon, it won't work there either and it certainly won't work in Thailand, where the kids are totally hooked on Tick Tock and Facebook, to name just two?

Of course it will work. All the TicTockers and FB addicts instead will immediately switch to studying physics, math, chemistry, foreign languages, while training to become Olympic athletes.

...Study... (?) ...Nothing...

...This Is Part Of The Global Agenda Apparently... (?)

...Establish A Condition That Has To Be Adhered To Whereby Everyone Is Forced To Comply & Reveal All Their Personal Details...

...Get It... (?)

...Other Techniques Are Being Used Concurrently...

...Someone Here...Including Myself Was Forced To Go Through A Thorough Rigmarole To Get Back On A Particular Social Platform... (?)

...Another Variation Being Used Is The Following:

-You Get Blocked/Locked Out

-'Suspicious Activity' Is Cited

You Have No Recourse

You Are Forced To Comply

...'Every Step You Take'...'Every Move You Make'....Lalalalala...Lalalalala...

I totally agree. It saddens me to see bright active kids suddenly becoming couch potatoes addicted to gaming and the mostly inane excrement they are constantly doomscrolling through! Same goes for adults but they at least should have the insight to break free of it if they wish.

3 minutes ago, SunsetT said:

I totally agree. It saddens me to see bright active kids suddenly becoming couch potatoes addicted to gaming and the mostly inane excrement they are constantly doomscrolling through! Same goes for adults but they at least should have the insight to break free of it if they wish.

The issue is that, whether we agree or not, there is one major workaround. Use mom's or dad's registration.

I don't see a lot of pacifiers that go in the outhouse to keep kids quiet here because they give them a phone to watch cartoons and such.

The other issue is if you take away the phones, then how do kids know what is happening in the country or world?

If we had paper newspapers, it might work better.

The real solution is to deposit the phone in a box when they go to school and get it back at the end of the day when they go home.

Unfortunately, people of all ages have become addicted to or sucked into digital currency. Take away the phone, and how do they pay for their matcha catcha frothy drink?

Makes me wonder how big the brown envelope was to increase that rank. Most govt schools are abominable, principally because they function in a hierarchical structure which teaches kids how to stand in line but only rote education.

With all this social media, I wonder how those kids as time to make us second in teen pregnancy!

On 6/24/2026 at 8:10 AM, Smokey and the Bandit said:

It didn't work in Australia, it is being implemented in the UK soon, it won't work there either and it certainly won't work in Thailand, where the kids are totally hooked on Tick Tock and Facebook, to name just two?

Here parents are so deeply engrossed in their own phones they cannot spare the time to monitor their kids.....

20 hours ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Makes me wonder how big the brown envelope was to increase that rank. Most govt schools are abominable, principally because they function in a hierarchical structure which teaches kids how to stand in line but only rote education.

With all this social media, I wonder how those kids as time to make us second in teen pregnancy!

Hey, that would solve the lack of youth problem

Seriously, yes, government schools are behind a lot of the non, but that is the same in a lot of countries. The issue is a difference in Philosophy and funding.

Government schools were created so that the children could be taught to replace their parents when they got older in government jobs

Government schools get their funding from a meagre pool of government money, while the NON get the government money and also the tuition.

Government jobs require obedience and discipline.

The problem, as many people have previously pointed out, is that parents in Thailand use phones/tablets as babysitters. I can't count the number of times I have been at breakfast in a hotel and seen kids trying to engage thier parents only for them to push them to the phone or tablets. I can't imagine what it is like trying to teach kids at school with them addicted to their phones. I think the ban would be a great idea, if it could be enforced. But, like most things in Thailand, "that's the rub."