The debate over social media use by teens is raging on.

In the United States, tech giants Meta and Google were just handed back-to-back losses in lawsuits against them in New Mexico and California.

Overseas, Germany is looking to ban social media, or at least make it harder to access, for young people, something Australia did last year.

From Berlin, special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports.

These bright young students in a top Berlin high school

reach for their smartphones as soon as there's a break in lessons.

They head straight to social media sites that might

soon be outlawed if Germany's governing party has its way. This 21st century version

of prohibition is a timely subject for the English class of teacher Dala Sheikh.

What did you learn? What are strong arguments in favor and strong arguments in opposition of a social media ban?

What do you feel like?

I often see girls that look perfect and sometimes I think, yeah, I would love to look like them or they look like

they have features I don't have and stuff like that so yeah I kind of compare myself

some people can feel like depressed because they don't have like such a perfect life or

self-gal laughter even I know how bad and how they affect my mental health

and how much time they take away from things that are more important in my life.

Experts say these experiences are just the tip of a more sinister psychological iceberg.

People younger than 13 years old, they should not be on social media.

Their brain, their ability, their resilience, their ability to deal with the content and

the functionality is just not in place yet.

And therefore, they shouldn't be on social media.

Professor Ralph Haervig is a psychologist who specializes in human judgment and decision

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