Can Instagram be shut down with a law? Teenagers have an answer.

For a large portion of Millennials and Gen Z, some form of social media was, for better or worse, part of their entire adolescence.

From MySpace and Hi5 to Facebook and Instagram, teenagers of the 2000s and 2010s exchanged music, stayed up late talking with friends, and developed what we call identity in the digital world, relatively unsupervised, depending on how technologically familiar their parents were (traditionally less so than their children).

That is what the government will try to change in less than a year—that is, from January 2027—when children under 15 in Greece will no longer have access to social media (this does not include messaging apps such as Viber).

“We are treating this issue as a matter of public health,” says Vasilis Koutsoumbas, Advisor on Digital Policy and Artificial Intelligence Applications in the Prime Minister’s office. “Beyond the undeniable data from studies showing that excessive use of social media leads to loneliness, psychological problems, and insecurity, I think we all see it empirically as well, even in ourselves.”

The social media platforms being targeted by governments worldwide today (with Australia leading the way) have little in common with the social media we used as teenagers. Since then, platforms have become far more effective at keeping users on them for as long as possible, thanks to “algorithms.”

It is these platforms (e.g. TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat) that the Greek government will hold responsible for enforcing the ban, within the framework of relevant European regulation. In other words, the platforms will be required to install reliable age-verification mechanisms and block access to minors below the age limit, while the government will “monitor” them and impose corresponding penalties through a European mechanism (currently under development).

Such verification tools may include “national” apps such as Gov.gr Wallet and KidsWallet (not exclusively), which all users in Greece may have to use as part of an age “re-verification” process carried out by the platforms, so that if someone under 15 has declared a false age, they will be blocked.

The measure has sparked mixed feelings. Parents have felt relieved—80% of public opinion agrees, according to a February poll. Cybersecurity experts are concerned about citizens’ data (an early version of the EU digital identity app was hacked in two minutes, Politico says).

According to Vasilis Koutsoumbas, “it may not be the most popular measure among those under 15.” “At the same time, however, we believe children have a certain emotional maturity and understand themselves that excessive time in front of a screen deprives them of other experiences,” he adds. “Reactions may be mixed at first, but we believe that later they will realize the measure is also something very beneficial for them.”

But how do the children themselves feel? We asked four of them to find out.

“The main reason I use them is to mindlessly scroll or to talk with my friends,” says Margarita, 13, who under the legislation will lose access to her Instagram account in 2027.

Fifteen-year-old Stavros says he uses them for the same reasons, adding that social media gives him “instant access to information.”

As for how much they use them, all four children said the time they spend does not exceed 60–90 minutes a day. But that is not true for everyone.

“When I go on vacation with my friends, for example to a house near the sea, we could be spending a lot of time outside,” says Ioli, 15. “Nevertheless, many times we stay indoors, because quite a few kids simply prefer to be on their phones.”

Experts say this is due to the very design of the apps, which is addictive. “I’ve caught myself many times saying I’ll stop in five minutes, and then 10–15 minutes pass,” says Maria, 14.

And this very often affects their sleep. “My best friend can stay up at night on TikTok and Instagram for hours,” says Maria. “But when I go to sleep, I leave my phone outside the bedroom because I know that the next day I won’t be able to function if I don’t sleep early.”

The reason these four children spend a specific amount of time on social media is directly related to the limits they have agreed on with their parents, which they seem to consciously regard as the key factor for using social media properly and safely.

“I have parental controls installed, so I can’t go over one hour on my phone per day.” As she describes it, parental controls are “an app that parents install on their own phone and on the child’s phone, through which they can monitor how many hours their children spend on the phone.” They can also control other things such as activity, which apps/websites the child can access, location, and more.

Stavros also emphasized the importance of cooperating with his parents in order to stay safe. “When I created Instagram with my dad, we set it up so that it would show I’m a minor and have certain settings that keep my profile safe, so I can only accept the people I want.”

Speaking about online bullying and other phenomena often cited as reasons for a ban, three out of the four children say they have not experienced such things themselves and do not know of any related incidents involving friends or acquaintances.

Ioli says that bullying, in her experience, happens much more in real life than in the digital world. As for approaches from strangers, she says that “the only time I’ve heard of it happening is in the videos they show us at school.”

“I’m not saying it doesn’t happen,” she stresses. “I just feel that it happens much less than the way it is presented.”

Maria says the issue has not been widely discussed at school yet, but whenever it has come up, “most people were somewhat disappointed.”

Even so, she personally views the measure positively. “Maybe one negative thing would be if chat apps were also banned [i.e. messaging apps such as Viber], because that would make it harder to communicate with my friends.”

Margarita also sees the law as positive. She believes that although “some children may get very angry,” children like herself, who already use social media very little because of parental controls, “are already kind of dealing with it.”

Stavros also points out that children at 13, meaning when they enter middle school, are very different from when they are 15 and leaving it. “You’ve matured a bit more as a person, you can make wiser choices. So yes, I think the measure makes sense.”

However, when asked whether it will actually stop children from gaining access to social media, he answers no. “Sooner or later all children, who are very familiar with technology, will find another way to access social media,” he says. “An Instagram group chat can very easily become a Viber group chat or move somewhere else.”

Ioli is the only one who considers the measure negative. Although she accepts the problems social media can cause, she links them to poor use rather than to the platforms being inherently bad.

“For example, if a girl compares herself to others on social media, it’s not social media itself that is to blame,” she explains. “For every one account like that, there are 20 others promoting body positivity and loving yourself.”

She also gives as an example the helpful role of social media for a gay friend of hers who lives in a provincial town. “Things are very different there, and social media is the only place where he can express himself the way he wants.”

What bothers her is the blanket enforcement of the measure. “Many people are not addicted to social media, but it will be banned for them too. I don’t find that very logical.”