In the digital age, minors are gaining access to social media at increasingly younger ages, with both their usage frequency and duration on the rise. Statistics show that the number of underage internet users in China has grown to 196 million, with an internet penetration rate of 97.3% among minors. The negative impacts of social media addiction on minors—particularly its harm to mental health, academic performance, and social skills—have long been a major public concern. How to ensure that minors can enjoy the benefits of the digital era while effectively avoiding its potential risks has become a pressing challenge for countries around the world. According to Fengbin HU , Assistant Researcher at the International Research Institute of Global Cyberspace Governance at Fudan University, China can actively draw on international best practices while tailoring solutions to its national context and real-world conditions. A multi-level, multi-stakeholder collaborative effort is needed to build a comprehensive and effective online protection system for minors.

Specifically, this includes: improving the legal framework, clarifying norms for internet use and corporate responsibilities, while safeguarding minors' digital rights; balancing technological innovation and monitoring effectiveness, developing accurate age verification and content filtering tools; strengthening regulatory mechanisms, drawing on international experience, and establishing strict regulatory systems and real-time monitoring technologies; promoting digital literacy education, integrating it into school curricula and public awareness campaigns; requiring internet companies to assume greater social responsibility and optimize their products and services; conducting regular large-scale surveys and establishing a long-term monitoring mechanism to provide data support for policy formulation and adjustment.

Translated by Andeez Zlauddln

Full text in Chinese available at:

https://fddi.fudan.edu.cn/33/3d/c18965a734013/page.htm