The Parliament of Denmark opened after the summer break, and the Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, said in her opening speech on October 7 that her party will seek to ban social media for children 15 years old and below.

The legislation has not yet been passed, but on November 7 the Parliament agreed to a political agreement to introduce the law. The deal does allow parents to give permission to children down to 13 years old to use social media.

Frederiksen states that the permission allows a balance between regulations and legislation, and lets families decide what is best for their children.

Frederiksen states that phones and social media are stealing the childhood from children. She does not say exactly what social media she talks specific about or when the legislation should take effect.

Most social media has a limit from 13 years old, but according to Børns Vilkår 94% children before the age of 13 have a profile on at least one social media platform.

For many Quincy University students, Denmark’s plan has a lot of different opinions about how much technology children should use and who should be responsible for setting those limits.

One of those students is Marina Oberschmid, who is a junior from Germany, she thinks that the country might be making a smart move.

“I think it’s a good idea and I hope that the law gets passed because first I think the children they’re not at higher risk to develop mental health issues but also the children they’re able to build their own opinion instead of looking at their role models on social media and just being affected by that,” Oberschmid said.

Helma Cruz on the other hand, is a sophomore from California, said that the government should not make that choice for families.

“I get that they want to keep kids safe, but banning it feels too intense. Parents should be the ones deciding what their kids can handle, not the government,” Cruz said.

Senior Morgan Schrock, who is from Michigan, she says that she understands both sides of the issue.

“Kids probably don’t need to be on their phones all day, but social media is also how people communicate now. A ban could help some families but hurt others. It really depends on how they plan to use it. But overall I think it is a great idea,” Schrock said.

As Denmark continues moving forward with the plan, students at QU are split on whether limiting social media will actually help kids or hold them back.

For now, the world is watching to see if Denmark will officially pass a nationwide social media age ban.