What UAE doctors and experts say on social media ban for under-15s and risks to children’s health

Dubai: A child scrolling late into the night may look harmless, but UAE doctors say what is happening inside the developing brain tells a different story. 

As the UAE moves to ban social media access for children under 15, medical experts have warned that the issue is no longer just about screen time limits but about protecting a generation whose brains, emotions, and behaviour are still under construction in a digital world designed to keep them hooked. 

Doctors and psychologists have shared with Gulf News that they are already seeing the consequences in clinics with rising anxiety, sleep disruption, reduced attention spans, posture-related pain, emotional distress, and growing concerns from parents about children’s behaviour and lifestyle changes.

Dr. Vishal Rajmal Mehta, specialist paediatrician at RAK Hospital, has noted that the UAE’s decision aligns with global evidence on brain development and online behaviour.

He has mentioned that the prefrontal cortex, which controls impulse regulation and risk assessment, is still not fully developed in children under 15, making them highly vulnerable to digital stimulation.

“Social media platforms are designed to trigger dopamine reward loops through likes, endless scrolling, and notifications,” Mehta told Gulf News.

He has warned that this can lead to behavioural dependency, disrupted sleep patterns, and emotional difficulties. Physical symptoms have been increasingly seen in clinics.

“We have noticed an increase in adolescent visits to the hospital for back pain and neck pain due to poor posture and a lack of physical activity.”

Parents have also reported unhealthy eating patterns and reduced movement linked to excessive screen exposure.

Similarly, Dr. Alexandre Machado, clinical psychologist at Medcare Royal Speciality Hospital, has bared that early adolescence is a critical period for brain development, particularly in areas responsible for judgement and impulse control.

According to him, young users are more vulnerable to emotional manipulation, peer pressure, and curated online realities.

“Just as we prohibit alcohol consumption for minors due to its impact on a developing brain, we should apply similar caution to social media,” described Machado.

Moreover, Machado has cited research links to anxiety, depression, body image issues, sleep disruption, and increasing concerns around self-harm and cyberbullying. The impact is not only psychological but neurological, as excessive use reinforces dopamine-driven behavioural loops that affect attention and executive function.

He has stressed that restriction alone is not enough and must be supported by digital literacy, parental involvement, and safer platform design.

On the other hand, Dr. Nirosha Ponnuraj, specialist paediatrician at Prime Medical Centre, has highlighted that excessive and unsupervised social media use is increasingly affecting children’s mental, emotional, and physical health.

Children under 15 often lack awareness of risks such as cyberbullying, misinformation, privacy breaches, and social comparison pressures.

“Children under 15 are still developing critical cognitive and emotional regulation abilities,” explained Ponnuraj.

Limiting access can improve sleep quality, emotional stability, academic performance, and family relationships, while also encouraging healthier physical activity.

Additionally, she has underscored that the policy should be part of a wider strategy involving parents, schools, and digital education.

For her part, Nargiza Noimann Zander, clinical psychologist and founder of X-Technology, has expressed support for the protective measure but warned that a ban alone will not solve the deeper issue.

She has pointed out that children’s brains are still developing key functions such as emotional regulation, impulse control, and critical thinking, making them especially sensitive to platform design.

“Modern social media platforms are built around mechanisms that hold attention and create repeated reward through endless streams of content,” said Zander.

This can increase anxiety, disrupt sleep, affect concentration, and influence self-esteem during a formative stage of identity development. However, she has emphasised that reducing exposure can allow children to build healthier emotional foundations through real-world relationships, family interaction, and offline experiences.

Improved sleep, reduced fatigue, and better routines have been the benefits. Still, she has reiterated that long-term success depends on combining regulation with education and parental guidance.

“The most effective approach is usually a combination of clear age-based limits, digital literacy, parental guidance, emotionally safe conversations, and healthier offline alternatives.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Smit Mehul Vadodariya, specialist paediatrician at Aster Clinic, has shared that smartphones and digital platforms have become an integral part of modern life and can offer educational and communication benefits when used appropriately.

“Restricting social media and mobile phone use does not mean rejecting technology. Rather, it means promoting healthy and age-appropriate use,” stated Vadodariya.

Parents should focus on creating healthier daily routines by encouraging outdoor play, sports, reading, hobbies, and family interaction. He has also recommended keeping devices out of bedrooms and establishing clear boundaries around screen use.

“Keeping devices out of bedrooms, limiting social media exposure, and creating screen-free family time can significantly improve a child's overall wellbeing.”

Another concern has been the excessive reliance on digital communication which may reduce opportunities for children to develop important life skills.

“Children learn important life skills such as empathy, communication, and conflict resolution through face-to-face interactions. Overreliance on digital communication may hinder the development of these essential interpersonal skills.”

Dr. Kirin Hilliar, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Heriot-Watt University Dubai and Psychologist at OpenMinds Psychiatry, Counselling and Neuroscience Centre, described the under-15 social media ban as a wide-scale solution that shifts the burden of age verification onto the platforms themselves but stressed that parents still have a vital role to play in teaching children mindful use and media literacy.

She also cautioned that the ban is only half the battle. With many children already deeply habituated to social media, parents will need to actively support their child's transition away from screens and towards new hobbies and real-world experiences and should be prepared for withdrawal symptoms along the way.

"Some kids may not experience withdrawal symptoms as such, but they will worry about FOMO, not staying up to date on the latest trends, gossip, and pop culture moments. That sense of missing out is very real for them. Parents are now going to have to retrain their children's brains, helping them move away from the expectation of an immediate dopamine hit. I think parents need to cultivate a genuine sense of community and social connection, because that's what children are really seeking when they turn to social media. Parents need to recreate that experience in real life: community groups, clubs, sports teams, that kind of meaningful interaction."

Dr. Hilliar added that teaching emotion-regulation skills and normalising the withdrawal experience are essential to making the ban work in the long term and urged parents not to give in to the temptation of allowing social media use again simply to ease their child's distress.

Mark Samways, Director of Wellbeing at Alkalma Health, is among the growing number of experts in the mental health space who support the social media ban. "Many parents already struggle to monitor their child's social media activity. Now they have government backing, which will compel these platforms to implement stronger safety regulations," he said.

Samways also argued that the ban is a necessary intervention, pointing to the rise of social media addiction among children, a phenomenon he compares to other forms of behavioural addiction.

"The way social media apps are designed delivers dopamine hits that activate the brain's reward pathway, making them highly addictive. What we naturally see in both young people and adults is a tendency to rely on social media as a way of managing anxiety. And if we feel socially isolated, often the first thing we do is reach for our phone."

He added that children appear to be particularly vulnerable to social media addiction due to the platforms' deliberately engineered features, endless scrolling, streaks, instant notifications, and other mechanisms designed to trigger rapid dopamine responses.

Specialists have agreed that children under 15 are not yet developmentally equipped to handle the behavioural pull and emotional intensity of social media platforms.

While restricting access may reduce risks such as anxiety, sleep disturbance, cyberbullying, and physical strain, it cannot work in isolation. UAE doctors have pointed that the damage they are warning about is not theoretical. It has already appeared in clinics, in classrooms, and in homes, and it is being shaped by habits formed far earlier than many parents realise.

The question, they say, is no longer whether social media affects children. It is how early, how deeply, and how permanently it is shaping them before they are ready to understand it.