Why big tech bosses are keeping their kids off social media platforms

From YouTube CEO Neal Mohan to Bill Gates, top tech leaders are limiting their children's screen time as studies link social media to teen anxiety and governments move towards age bans

Some of the most powerful figures behind the world’s biggest social media and technology platforms are choosing to keep their own children away from them. As evidence mounts about the mental health risks of excessive screen time, tech leaders are publicly admitting they enforce strict digital limits at home.

 

Why no social media for teens

 

YouTube CEO Neal Mohan is the latest tech executive to acknowledge restricting his children’s use of social media. Mohan, who took charge of YouTube in 2023 and was recently named TIMEmagazine’s 2025 CEO of the Year, said his family actively limits access to online platforms.

 

 

“We do limit their time on YouTube and other platforms and other forms of media. On weekdays we tend to be more strict, on weekends we tend to be less so. We’re not perfect by any stretch,” Mohan said in a video interview shared by TIME.

 

Mohan said moderation guides his parenting approach, adding that different families will have different comfort levels. He has three children and has consistently emphasised parental control tools, including YouTube Kids, which was launched in 2015 to provide a more child-friendly viewing experience.

 

His views echo those of other tech leaders who argue that unrestricted access to social media can expose children to harmful content, addictive design features and online pressure at an early age.

 

What studies say about social media and children

 

Academic research has increasingly linked heavy social media use to anxiety, depression and sleep disruption among teenagers. Jonathan Haidt, a professor at New York University and author of The Anxious Generation, has been one of the most vocal critics of early smartphone access.

 

“Let them have a flip phone, but remember, a smartphone isn’t really a phone. They could make phone calls on it, but it’s a multi-purpose device by which the world can get to your children,” Haidt said in an interview with CNBC earlier this year.

 

Haidt has advocated delaying smartphones until at least age 14 and restricting access to social media until 16, citing correlations between the rise of smartphones and worsening adolescent mental health indicators.

 

Multiple studies published by institutions including the US Surgeon General’s office and the American Psychological Association have also warned that excessive social media use may increase the risk of low self-esteem, cyberbullying and attention disorders among adolescents.

 

Australia’s social media ban and global ripple effect

 

Australia this week became the first country to formally prohibit children under 16 from accessing major social media platforms. The move followed growing political and public concern about online harms, with a YouGov survey showing 77 per cent public support for the ban ahead of its passage.

 

While the rollout has faced logistical challenges and pushback from technology companies, the law has intensified global debate. Policymakers in the UK, the European Union and parts of the US have signalled they are exploring stricter age-verification rules and limits on teen social media use.

 

The Australian decision has added momentum to arguments that responsibility for protecting children online cannot rest solely with parents.

 

Other tech leaders take a similar stand

 

Mohan is not alone. Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki previously said she barred her children from browsing the main YouTube platform and restricted them to YouTube Kids with strict time limits.

 

“I allow my younger kids to use YouTube Kids, but I limit the amount of time that they’re on it. I think too much of anything is not a good thing,” Wojcicki told CNBC in 2019.

 

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has also spoken about delaying access to smartphones for his children until their teenage years.

 

“We didn’t give our kids cell phones until they were 14 and they complained other kids got them earlier,” Gates said in a past interview.

 

Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban went further, installing network controls and monitoring software at home to regulate which apps his children could use and when their devices would shut off.

 

Why it matters

 

That the architects of digital platforms are limiting their own children’s exposure has sharpened scrutiny of how social media products are designed and marketed to young users. As governments consider tighter regulation and parents seek clearer guidance, the gap between public-facing tech optimism and private caution among industry leaders is becoming harder to ignore.