Governments worldwide are talking about how to limit children's access to social media. This is due to worries about online safety and the digital wellbeing of young people.
Australia is the first country to set a minimum age of 16 for accounts on some social media platforms.
These rules started on 10 December 2025. Age-restricted platforms must make reasonable efforts to stop those under 16 from having accounts.
One popular platform among young users is TikTok.
With mixed reactions to calls for restricting children's access to social media, Adebayo Shehu Tijani has a different view.
He believes that being online before he turned 16 was not just about entertainment. It gave him chances that helped shape him into the young advocate he is now.
Years later, Tijani, a Nigerian Mass Communication student and film editor, has a unique role: he is part of TikTok’s Global Youth Council. This council includes young people from different countries who share their experiences and views on how to make the platform safer for younger users.
Mr Tijani joined the council in 2024 after applying through Praesidio Safeguarding, TikTok’s partner for this initiative, and going through several interviews.
He thinks his journey gives him a personal view on a big question facing governments, parents, and tech companies: should children under 16 be kept off social media, or can they be protected while still having access to online opportunities?
“Speaking from my own experience, I started discovering opportunities online before I turned 16. Those experiences helped me grow as a young leader and opened doors that have shaped my journey, including serving on TikTok’s Global Youth Council. If I had not been able to access those opportunities, my path might have looked very different,” he told PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday.
Tijani acknowledges that the safety concerns are real. But he believes restrictions should not be the only way to respond.
He argues that social media is not just for entertainment anymore. It is also a way to learn new skills, find opportunities, connect with mentors, express themselves, and build communities.
He said, “Rather than asking whether young people should or should not be on social media, I think the bigger question is how we can help them use it safely and responsibly. That is why digital education, parental involvement, and strong safety features are so important.”
Mr Tijani is also the founder of Advocate for Youth Safety and Health Initiative (AYSHI). This is a youth-led effort focused on youth safety and health.
He says being on TikTok’s Global Youth Council has let him take part in discussions about young people's experiences on the platform.
Council members engage in discussions, workshops, and meetings with TikTok teams and safety experts. They provide feedback on issues affecting younger users.
Since he joined, Tijani has shared feedback on digital wellbeing, privacy, reporting systems, and safety tools.
He mentioned TikTok’s Well-being Missions, the meditation feature, and updates to the TikTok Teen Safety Centre as initiatives where council members have shared their views.
“Knowing that our input can influence real changes on a global platform is very empowering,” he said.
“It has also taught me valuable skills such as teamwork, communication, leadership, and how to advocate for young people’s needs.”
For Tijani, this experience shows a bigger problem with discussions about children's online safety. Young people are often talked about but not included in decisions that affect them.
“Young people are the ones using these platforms every day. We understand the opportunities they create, but we also experience the challenges firsthand,” he said.
“That lived experience is valuable and should be part of the conversation when decisions are being made.”
Beyond giving young people a voice, Tijani believes digital education should be a key part of preparing children for online life.
“I believe digital education is just as important as learning subjects like Mathematics or English, because young people today spend a significant part of their lives online,” he said.
“It’s not enough to know how to use social media. Young people also need to understand how to use it safely, responsibly, and positively.”
This education should teach young people how to protect their privacy, spot misinformation, report harmful content, handle cyberbullying, and build healthy digital habits.
He also feels that responsibility cannot rest solely on tech companies.
Parents, schools, governments, civil society groups, and tech companies all have roles in creating safer online spaces.
Tijani pointed to parental controls and digital-wellbeing tools as ways to give families more oversight without keeping teenagers off social media.
Among TikTok’s measures he noted are Time Away Scheduling, which lets parents set screen-free times, and tools that show parents the accounts their teenagers follow and those that follow them.
He also mentioned a wind-down feature for users under 16. This feature stops the For You feed after 10 p.m. with a full-screen reminder and calming music to encourage them to stop scrolling.
Mr Tijani said the Global Youth Council helped provide input for such tools.
But he believes that individual features alone cannot fix the challenges young people face online.
While discussions continue about whether keeping under-16s off social media is the best way to protect them, Tijani argues that safety and opportunity do not have to clash.
“I believe the goal should be to create an internet where young people are both safe and empowered.”
Drop your comment
No comments yet — be the first to drop the gist 👇