AIBU to find a girl's comment about social media quite sad

I'm NW and everyone I know who has seen it recognised she wasn't being serious, meaning she was saying obviously she would find something else to do.

I'm not

So stop moaning.

I'm sure they are, but it's still not possible for many people.

I can assure you many many groups are run by people working full time, and many with children too.
If you want things out of life it’s only fair that you put something back in, rather than bemoaning you’re not served.

We did, me included, doesn’t mean it was a good thing. I didn’t suggest it would prevent anything awful happening but it does give an added level of safety.

I had an awful experience at a sleepover growing up and the hosts mother refused to call my mum (because she was partly responsible for what happened). I wouldn’t put my child in that position, they will have an emergency phone with them whenever they are away from me just in case.

Maybe, but I am very Northern and didn't pick up on any humour or humorous delivery in her response.

I find it quite disturbing that this girl was on social media for 9 hours a day and thinks she can only 'stare at a wall'. That is EXACTLY why this ban is needed.

My kid is 11, she has a phone but barely uses it, so she's exactly the target audience for the ban because she's never been aware of it. On the one hand, I agree with the YouTube ban because she always wants to watch it, but on the other, she's really knowledgeable about nature because that's what she likes to watch on it, so I'm a little unsure about that being included in it.

I'm only 40, so the last real generation to grow up without social media (god I love that my uni days were not documented!)

But as a tween/teen I would

• go with my mates to the park / on a bike ride
• walk to the town centre and go shopping with my mates
• go swimming
• go to the library and choose some books to read (still do this weekly)
• do some drawings. I used to love to sit and draw
• learn how to play my keyboard (which I've taken up again as an adult)
• I used to love baking in the school holidays, making cupcakes and biscuits
• Play bulldog/IT at the park
• physically talk to my friends on the phone sat on the bottom of the stairs!
• Build lego - and now with so many adult/niche lego sets available, there's loads to keep kids occupied

All of this is still readily available and can be done for free.

So it's bullshit to say there's nothing for kids to do.

They don't know how to be bored or use their imaginations and that's really sad.

This was the northern sense of humour, I thought it was obvious but maybe not.

I don’t find it sad. When screens are removed they find things to do. I’m against the ban, though, because it may lead to us all being required to input our dates of birth.That is far too much sensitive data for a tech company to own on us, on top of our up address.Not that I want kids on social media. God knows, I struggled enough with this, as a mum of the earliest endlessly online users.

Everyone including adults are going to have to prove their age with digital ID 😞

Except lots of parents work full-time and don’t have the time or capacity to start volunteering or setting up Brownie groups. Mine were often out of the house 7-6 when I was in my teens as well as working the odd weekend.

Saying people need to just get off their backsides and do more is pretty unrealistic in most cases.

Yes, I agree. And books in my case.

I saw this. Tragic.

I got off my BS and became a parish councillor to improve things. A friend now runs a Brownie group as it was in danger of closing. Instead of moaning about the shortfall, do something about it.

It's probably 20 years too late to be honest. I do have that DC who was totally obsessed with gaming and screens from when he was about 7. His fuckwit father would give, and I would take away. The fuckwit won.

I think this legislation very positive. It is also a relief that the campaigning of Ellen Roome has been passed giving the availability of data for parents whose children have died playing fucking dares on fucking tiktok is also - Positive. Her son was 14 when he died.

Oops for the swearing.

Exactly! Her comic timing was impeccable 😄

They asked a teen girl on the news what she she will do with the nine hours a weekend she currently spends on the phone when the ban comes in. Her completely serious reply was "Stare at the wall"... How sad.

It’s pathetic.

Go out with friends. Go to each others house. Read books. Watch films. Listen to music. Literally everything all of us did as teenagers, and then some.

This action is absolutely necessary to stop the rot of young kids staring at bloody IPads and becoming addicted to them. Depressing as hell seeing kids with their own IPad sat in a pushchair. Grim.

Books? I was a voracious reader as a child. Still am, actually.

You played like this when you were 15?

They need nice outdoor hobbies too. But to replace hours of endless scrolling they need affordable nice things to do that will occupy their minds.

The outside world is really horrible in some areas.
I don't think youth clubs are the answer. Kids who need youth clubs need better home life.

I live in the U.S. in a university town. Most of the students are walking the streets looking at their phones totally oblivious to their surroundings. I've had them walk into the street in front of my moving car. I agree with Mr. Starmer's approach to the matter. Several of our states are looking into similar regulations. I think it's particularly harmful to start having infants and toddlers use media instead of using their imaginations and creativity through play.

Nail on the head. The other day I was gobsmacked to see the admission prices at our local council swimming pool. It's insane.

Our nearby town have a council park, it used to have a free paddling pool, open-access tennis courts (first come first served), etc so something to do even without money. Now, the tennis courts are locked and you have to pay by the hour, the paddling pool was ripped up and replaced by an expensive splash park (fenced off so paying is the only way), even the little train is now a whopping £3 per ride for a 2 minute ride around an oval of track. Pitch N Put is a tenner per person as is the crazy golf. Everything is money grabbing these days, even things put on by the council.

there's nothing else to do.
For poor people this is somewhat true these days.