- Ram Gopal Varma opposed banning social media for children under 16 in India
- He argued bans limit access to real-time knowledge and global learning resources
- Varma warned bans create competitive inequality between restricted and open countries
The suicide of three minor sisters in Ghaziabad on 4 February has triggered a fierce debate on digital addiction and renewed calls to ban social media for minors in India.
In the wake of the incident, filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma weighed in on the proposal to ban social media for children under 16, arguing that such restrictions are counterproductive in a world where digital fluency, information speed, and global networks drive opportunity.
In a note titled "BAN THE BANNERS," he contends that restrictions, however well-intentioned, would create long-term disadvantages for young people by cutting them off from the very channels that accelerate learning and capability.
About Ram Gopal Varma's Post
He started his post with, "The core problem with banning social media to protect children under 16 from so-called offensive content also will handicap them in today's hyper-competitive global information economy."
Expanding on this, he added, "It's foolish to think social media is just a frivolous distraction because in today's times, it's the primary pipeline for real-time knowledge, skills, and networks that determine who gets ahead. Kids in countries without bans will gain constant exposure to cutting-edge learning resources like YouTube tutorials, Reddit threads, TikTok explainers, and global forums that teach coding, languages, entrepreneurship, science, and current events faster and more engagingly than traditional classrooms."
Varma warns of a widening gap between children who remain plugged into fast-moving information streams and those who are cut off by policy.
He wrote, "Instant access to diverse perspectives, breaking news, and opportunities that kids in restricted countries only encounter later, if at all, through much slower and curated channels will create a stark competitive inequality. A 14-year-old in a non-banning country builds an intuitive mastery of information flows, builds online communities, experiments with ideas, and stays ahead of a counterpart in a banning country like Australia where the kids will miss the informal education, the discoveries, and the early digital social capital that will compound over time into better education outcomes, career edges, and innovative thinking."
BAN THE BANNERS
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) February 9, 2026
The core problem with banning social media to protect children under 16 from so called offensive content also will handicap them in today's hyper competitive global information economy.
It's foolish to think social media is just a frivolous distraction because…
He acknowledged the "protective rationale" but insisted it misunderstands the realities of a connected world, saying, "The "protection" rationale of banning sounds noble, but it ignores how the modern world actually works. Information speed is now a decisive factor in both personal and national success. Banning access will not eliminate risks .. it simply outsources the information advantage to children elsewhere, widening the very inequalities governments claim to care about. Kids will still encounter the world eventually, but those denied early, guided exposure risk entering it less prepared, less adaptable, and less informed than the unrestricted."
"In an era where knowledge compounds exponentially online, these bans don't safeguard childhood, but they will create a generation of digital latecomers, structurally behind in the global race for ideas, skills, and opportunities. The countries that keep access open are effectively giving their youth a powerful head start. The "offensive content" excuse, while real in isolated cases, pales against the systemic cost of information deprivation in a competitive world. This should be a critical warning about trading long-term capability for short-term safety procedures," added the director.
About The Ghaziabad Triple Suicide Case
Pakhi, 12; Prachi, 14; and Nishika, 16, reportedly jumped to their deaths from the ninth floor of their apartment building last Wednesday, allegedly after their parents objected to their gaming addiction and took away their phones.
The girls locked their room from the inside and jumped from the balcony window one by one at around 2:15 am. The sound was so loud that it woke up many people in the residential complex. They were immediately taken to a hospital in Loni, where they were declared dead.
Also Read: After Claiming AR Rahman Didn't Compose Oscar-Winning Jai Ho, Ram Gopal Varma Says He Was "Misquoted"
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