Ahead of Greek social media ban, parents desperate to separate children from phones

A miss checks κοινωνικά media posts connected her phone, arsenic Greece is acceptable to prohibition under-15s from κοινωνικά media successful European crackdown, successful Athens, Greece, April 1, 2026. [Louisa Gouliamaki/Reuters]

Greek parent Georgia Efstathiou has tried everything to loosen the grip that κοινωνικά media has connected her 14-year-old son: heart-to-heart talks; internet-free time; confiscating his phone. Arguments flare arsenic she fights the allure of his surface and its videos and messages. 

Now, Efstathiou whitethorn beryllium getting the assistance she desperately wants. In the coming days, the Greek authorities is expected to denote a κοινωνικά media prohibition for children under 15, joining ⁠the increasing ranks of nations seeking to shield young children ⁠from addiction and online abuse.

“Ban them, unopen them down. We’ve reached our limits… We parents request help,” said Efstathiou, 43, holding her son’s mobile telephone successful her surviving country successful Athens.

Efstathiou isn’t alone. An sentiment canvass by ALCO published successful February showed astir ​80% of those surveyed approved of a ⁠ban. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ authorities has already outlawed mobile phones successful schools and acceptable up parental power platforms to bounds teenagers’ surface time.

The authorities has declined to remark connected the prohibition oregon when ⁠and however it will beryllium implemented. Reuters reported connected the ‌plan successful February ⁠and sources said a ceremonial announcement is pending. 

Last month, Mitsotakis told a Greek-Australian paper that Greece will determination “in a akin absorption to that of Australia,” where κοινωνικά media companies were ordered successful December to support retired users under 16 oregon look fines.

As successful countries crossed the world, Greece faces a reckoning with κοινωνικά media sites ‌such arsenic Meta’s Instagram, TikTok and online gaming platforms.

At the EU-funded Greek Safer Internet Centre successful Athens, calls to a helpline which offers support to kid victims of cyberbullying much than doubled betwixt 2024 and 2025, said George Kormas, who runs the helpline. Other complaints see blackmail of ​minors, misinformation and hatred speech.

According to the helpline’s data, 75% of children utilizing κοινωνικά media successful Greece are of primary-school age.

“This undoubtedly worries us, due to the fact that they cannot grip κοινωνικά media oregon support themselves,” helium said.

The caput of the National Organization for the Prevention and Treatment of Addictions, ‌Athanasios Theocharis, said astir 48% of teenagers ​have felt the antagonistic interaction of κοινωνικά media.

“Clearly (the ban) has the imaginable to supply a important grade of protection,” helium said.

Meanwhile, parents who ⁠spoke to Reuters fearfulness they person mislaid power of what ‌their children bash online oregon expressed interest that kids will find a way astir the ban. Some similar nary authorities involution astatine all.

“I’d ​prefer a antithetic approach, limiting mobile telephone use within the family,” said Dimitris, 44. “But where that’s not possible, possibly a prohibition would work ‌as ⁠the utmost ⁠remedy.”

His 14-year-old girl Catherine says astir teenagers her property person ne'er known a ​world without κοινωνικά media.

“It is the way we learned since we were born,” she told Reuters, earlier playing hoops with ​her begetter adjacent the Acropolis. “I tin power it – but then again I usually ‌get carried away.” [Reuters]