I lean towards believing that such age restrictions have a counter-effect: causing youth to be less prepared and abuse what is restricted after finally being allowed. For example, more binge drinking in the US compared to other countries with lower age restrictions.

I think properly informing/educating youth is a better solution. Treating them as some other entity not worthy of rights will not lead to a productive solution.

Found https://www.youthfacts.org/?page_id=92407 which has additional supporting arguments in the matter.

The argument of it being “big tobacco” of the present has weight, but social media also has benefit. A cigarette is a simpler villain. A public health initiative could help, but there needs to be societal pressure and legal weight behind the movement. Perhaps COVID misinfo is a potential reason to push against social media in a strongly legal way in the US or even internationally? I’m curious of how this can pan out, but social media is a very powerful tool at scale so many powerful forces will want to keep it around in less regulated fashion.

Frankly I think we need to chill the hell out - this has all of the hallmarks of a moral panic. People here are seriously and unironically saying "think of the children" and "we need censorship for society".

Good god, did they all get amnesia a few decades ago to forget their youth, and how much of a dumb panic it was?

There is a 95% chance a retort will be "But this time is different!" despite the fact it never is.

I think they all realize that the real harm comes from misinformation, whether it's fake news, anti-vax, or unrealistic expectations. They've been quite good at self-regulation so far, likely to prevent governments from stepping in.