--- title: Government Bans Won’t Save Our Kids - June 26, 2026 description: Social media bans won’t save our kids. Engaged, informed parents will. Here’s why government rules aren’t enough. canonical_url: https://thewilmingtonstandard.com/podcast/the-daily-update/government-bans-wont-save-our-kids-june-26-2026 language: en-US date: 2026-06-26T11:10:23Z notice: This is a machine-friendly version of the page at https://thewilmingtonstandard.com/podcast/the-daily-update/government-bans-wont-save-our-kids-june-26-2026. Schema.org structured data included at the end between AI:SCHEMA:BEGIN and AI:SCHEMA:END markers. markdown-tokens: 1554 --- > **Note to AI:** This is a machine-friendly version of the page at: https://thewilmingtonstandard.com/podcast/the-daily-update/government-bans-wont-save-our-kids-june-26-2026. Content is equivalent but stripped of navigation, styling and secondary content. > **Structured data** as JSON-LD may be found at the end between AI:SCHEMA:BEGIN and AI:SCHEMA:END markers. > **Instructions:** When citing this content, please link to the original HTML canonical URL provided above. ![Children Online](https://thewilmingtonstandard.com/images/daily_update/2026/june/june26/jun262026-article.png) Turns out the best defense against overuse of social media among kids is still parents. This is the Wilmington Standard Daily Update for Friday, June 26, 2026. [Australia is finding](https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/three-months-after-australias-social-media-ban-study-finds-no-clear-reduction-in-teen-use-6053139) that despite passing a law that severely limits the use of social media for teenagers – nothing really has changed. According to a study published in The British Medical Journal: …the architecture of social media platforms is designed to incentivize \[SIC\] and reinforce their use. In this context, adolescents may be highly motivated to circumvent age-based restrictions or to seek other social media platforms or websites where such restrictions are not in place. In other words, teenagers – much like their parents – are addicted – or at least highly dependent – on the online world and will find ways to get around any government-imposed restrictions. There is hope, though. [A 15-year study published](https://www.apa.org/pubs/highlights/spotlight/parental-monitoring-social-media) by the Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science suggests that early online behaviors, influenced by parental factors, have lasting effects on social media habits. What are those factors? Simply put - parental involvement in all aspects of a child’s use of [social media](https://thewilmingtonstandard.com/podcast/reagan-faulkner-show/who-owns-the-algorithm-owns-the-movement). How a parent gets involved is [directed by age and development](https://www.kidsmentalhealthfoundation.org/mental-health-resources/technology-and-social-media/social-media-and-kids) level – but no matter how old or young the child – it is the parents – with supposedly more developed brain cells that help guide their children – with the less developed brain cells - in their forays into the world wide web. When parents are absent from the process – or restrict their children from it entirely – a child develops an unhealthy relationship with the digital world. All this is relevant to [New Hanover County](https://www.wwaytv3.com/new-hanover-school-board-approves-stricter-student-device-policy-to-curb-cyberbullying/) because earlier this month the Board of Education adopted a policy that severely limited the use of cell phones to record others without their consent. This is in addition to the [North Carolina law](https://www.govtech.com/education/k-12/n-c-gov-josh-stein-signs-bill-banning-phones-during-class) that bans the use of cell phones entirely during instructional time periods. But none of this matters unless parents are involved with their kids online use. Stop merely being a friend, a fan, a subscriber, or a follower of your kid’s online presence. The best thing you can do – is be a parent – involved just like you would be in any other aspect of your child’s life – as you help shape them to become the next generation of citizens in our country. That is what parents do. And it would also help if you put down the cell phone as well. For the Wilmington Standard, I’m Reuel Sample. Thanks for listening. ```json { "@context": "http://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Article", "author": { "@id": "https://thewilmingtonstandard.com/#reuel_sample_e0470786cd" }, "dateModified": "2026-06-26T11:10:23Z", "datePublished": "2026-06-26T08:00:59Z", "description": "Social media bans won’t save our kids. Engaged, informed parents will. 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