YouTube CEO Limits Social Media Use for His Children

YouTube CEO Neal Mohan has joined a growing list of tech executives who limit their own children's social media use, even as they run the platforms millions of kids use daily. The move highlights growing concerns about internet harm among young people, with experts and parents pushing for stricter controls.

Mohan, who took over YouTube in 2023 and was recently named Time magazine's CEO of the Year for 2025, told the publication that his children's social media use is monitored and restricted. In a TikTok video posted by Time last week, he explained their approach: "We set time limits for them on YouTube and other platforms, and we use different types of media. We tend to be stricter during weekdays and more relaxed on weekends. We're not perfect by any means."

The YouTube chief said "moderation in everything" works best for him and his wife when it comes to digital platforms. Mohan has three children - two boys and a girl.

His comments come as experts continue warning about the damage excessive smartphone and social media use causes children and teenagers. Jonathan Haidt, a New York University professor who wrote "The Anxious Generation," has called for banning smartphones for kids under 14 and social media access before age 16.

"Let them use a basic phone, but remember that a smartphone isn't really a phone," Haidt told CNBC's Tania Bryer earlier this year. "Sure, they can make phone calls, but it's a multi-purpose device that gives access to your children from anywhere."

The debate has moved beyond academic circles. This week, Australia became the first country to officially ban users under 16 from major social media platforms. Before the law passed last year, a YouGov poll showed 77% of Australians supported the social media ban for under-16s. But the law has faced some resistance since taking effect.

Mohan told Time he feels deep responsibility toward young users and wants to give parents more control over how their children use the platform. YouTube launched YouTube Kids in 2015 as a child-friendly version of Google's main video platform.

His goal is to "make it easier for all parents to manage their children's YouTube use" in ways that fit each family's needs, since every parent has their own approach.

Other tech leaders have taken similar steps. Susan Wojcicki, YouTube's former CEO, prevented her children from browsing videos on the main app except through YouTube Kids and set time limits for platform use. "I let my younger kids use YouTube Kids, but I limit their time on it," Wojcicki told CNBC in 2019. "I think too much of anything isn't good."

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is among tech giants who oppose letting young people spend long hours in front of screens. Gates, father to three now-adult children, said he didn't give them mobile phones until they reached their teens.

"We don't use mobile phones at the dinner table, and we didn't give our children mobile phones until they turned 14, even though they complained that their peers got them at younger ages," Gates said years ago.

Meanwhile, billionaire Mark Cuban took a more technical approach, installing Cisco routers and using management software to monitor which apps his children used and remotely shut down their phones when needed.