The Act leader has suggested smartphones could be banned for under-16-year-olds.
In a speech to a business leaders' dinner on Wednesday night, David Seymour said it's clear anxiety, depression and self-harm has increased in children and young people since the advent of smartphones.
He has suggested Parliament could prohibit the purchase, possession and supply of smartphones to under-16s, instead only allowing teenagers to use 'dumb-phones', which don't have access to social media apps.
"We already prohibit adults from supplying minors with tobacco and alcohol, for example.
"The object is tangible, the rule is understandable, and reasonable adults support the purpose of the law. A smartphone is just as tangible."
Citing political commentator Ani O'Brien, Seymour said that instead of regulating the platforms, the device should be targeted instead.
"Put simply, why don't we deal with the hardware instead of the software?"
The government is already considering a social media ban in line with Australia's and the United Kingdom's - but the Act Party has said it doesn't support it.
Seymour said a ban on social media is too hard to implement, and won't work.
I’m a teacher so I guess I’m on the front lines here. The thing that worries me most is that some parents use phones and tablets to replace parenting for their babies and younger children. In high school, I don’t see many kids these days choosing to read books for fun anymore. It’s really sad, and it all definitely affects the way that our kids function (or don’t) in schools.
Governments will tinker with the educational system to try and fix the growing problem of student academic underachievement, but will shy away from the real problem, which is that the level of parental involvement in and support of their child’s learning has decreased. Parents are addicted to their phones too, after all. It’s made me determined as a parent not to let phone use come between me and my own child as she grows up.