Banning mobile phone use in public schools has been dubbed the best decision one Labor government has made as it sets its sights on social media age limits.
Thousands of parents and teenagers highlighted social media's negative impacts, including addiction and other harms, in a major state-run survey.
Nearly 90 per cent of the 21,000 respondents to the online survey backed age restrictions for social media use, with 16 being the most suggested minimum age.
The biggest shock for NSW Premier Chris Minns, a father of three boys, was teenagers' concerns about the impact on daily responsibilities, excessive screen time and becoming addicted.
His government is among several across the nation considering enforcing age restrictions to keep younger teens off the digital platforms.
"In the best-case scenario, it's a massive time suck - worst-case scenario, it can have an impact on your mental health," Mr Minns told reporters on Friday.
The survey suggests YouTube is used by half of all kids aged five and above, with it the most widely accessed platform for under-16s.
Instagram, which holds supremacy among older juveniles, is accessed by about three in 10 kids, similar to Snapchat and TikTok.
While concerns have been raised about the efficacy of a mandated social media age limit, the premier highlighted the benefits of the "single best decision" his administration had made.
Students were banned from using phones in public schools a year ago.
"The feedback from parents and teachers has been that for the first time in many of these schools, kids are engaging with each other at recess and lunch, rather than being glued to this bloody phone in their hands," Mr Minns said.
Social media platforms generally forbid under-13s from creating accounts in their terms and conditions.
However, parent-run campaigns highlighting harms have convinced both major political parties to introduce higher, enforceable age limits.
Raising the age has also won support from the premiers of NSW and South Australia ahead of a rare dual-state conference where experts, policymakers and young people will consider age-based bans and how to improve digital wellbeing.
The first-of-its-kind Social Media Summit starts in Sydney on Thursday, before moving to Adelaide on Friday.
But tighter restrictions haven't been universally backed.
Mental health organisations have warned federal MPs a blanket ban would cause harm, while a young journalist aired concern a wide-reaching ban taking in YouTube could impact news access and education.
"When there's danger in the water, we don't teach kids to stay out of the water, we teach them to swim, right?" 6 News Australia's 16-year-old founder Leo Puglisi told an inquiry on Wednesday.
