Srinagar, Dec. 10 -- The first time I saw a ten-year-old with a phone in a Kashmiri village, she held it like it was part of her.

Her eyes moved quickly from one picture to the next, fingers swiping faster than I could follow.

Around her, apple trees swayed in the wind and the mountains stood still, but she was lost in a world I couldn't reach.

Australia's recent decision to bar social media for children under 16 suddenly made me wonder: could we offer our children a similar refuge?

This is no trivial regulation. The eSafety Commission in Australia reported that 96 percent of children aged 10 to 15 are active online, and seven in ten have encountered harmful content.

Videos that shock, images that disturb, and words that wound are...