AIBU to think banning social media for under-16s is a good idea?

Those restrictions mean turn on a vpn in most cases.

Age restrictions are already in place for adult content accessed from the UK, it’s really not that hard to understand how it could be enforced.

Whether or not I agree, it’s up to me what my daughter does, not the government. I birthed her so I’ll decide if she’s on social media not some numpty.
I honestly can’t see how they’ll enforce it….
tbh I’ve seen more adults bullying adults than I have kids on social media. The problem is humanity

Exactly this. If parents took greater control and weren't so lazy about monitoring what their kids are accessing, the government wouldn't need to step in.

So you won’t use a VPN and continue posting with digital ID?

Oh that edit. Ffs people are aware data is being used. You and they still post because it’s a trade off.

The government/police can ask tech platforms to pass on this information anyway, and nothing you put on social media, or anywhere online is entirely confidential - you’d be very naive to think it’s not traceable anyway.

Over and above an under 16s ban, I think a lot of adults need more digital literacy understanding, maybe bringing this all in will make a lot more people consider what they’re actually sharing online and with who.

Why would this be linked to the state?

the government won’t be able to access the age verification data

I’m a web developer and I’ve never logged into YouTube in my life and cookies are disabled on every device in the house so that I can control which ones are used. If they want me to log in to YouTube to verify my age I’ll stop using it.

Both of my kids went from mid grades to 9s at GCSE accessing some of the superb tutorial channels - it was like having a personal tutor that never got tired or bored of explaining the same topic ad infinitum, coupled with a thorough understanding of the marking scheme and not wanting to be paid.

A kid born in September will get access to that resource in the first month of their GCSE year. A kid born after mid June will never see it in time without parents supervision. I don’t know how much time people want to spend supervising GCSE physics. And the algorithm is incredibly useful here in finding new creators that students trust.

On the other hand a kid born in September will get access to every distraction under the sun just as they start GCSE year, all wrapped up in a previously shiny ‘forbidden fruit’ wrapper. They’ll also know no-one in their class to start with and it’s easy to imagine their only choice of friends will be some older sibling of a friend, for example. And they’ll have no-one else to talk to.

No. I don't want the two things combined.

I don't want tech companies having full access to govt info or vice versa.

The risks should be fairly obvious?

@Changingplacewould you just use social media without a VPN giving full access to any gov over your posting?

So you trust tech companies with your data more than you trust the government?

Political opinions, social connections, beliefs, comms, etc.

Can you explain what more data this ‘digital ID’ would hold that’s not already in place with passports, driving licences, info held on say government pension contribution account or other benefits?

Concerns about govt taking more and more info are twofold. Firstly, I don't want to share info, and secondly, I don't trust them to have the proper security to ensure its safe.

FWIW I've been a civil servant and seen other civil servants access, misuse, and abuse information held on members of the public.

With the whole digital id to access social media stuff. Yes the government knows when I was born how much I earn my blood type.

But I don’t trust them when it comes to linking my online presence to my government id.

I want to post on Mumsnet or Instagram as I want not with them being able to basically find exactly what I’m posting because it’s linked up. Yes yes very tin foil hat of me but when the thought police are about it’s nice to be an annon as you can be at times.

It probably depends on the school. Mine are privately educated but have only ever been at schools with very strict mobile phone policies, which means that phones aren’t allowed to be used at all during the day. It means that phone use doesn’t become a habit. In addition, they are using so busy with extra curricular stuff that they don’t have time for social media. We did visit one school where kids were in the corridor using their phones during breaks so we discounted that school immediately. I do think that the phone culture at school has a huge impact on teens.

l want to keep SM use separate from the government. Absolutely not keen for them to have my personal posting data.

And yes I obviously choose what to use based on a transactional basis. I don’t do FB or X for example but do use IG. If I didn’t trust it I’d avoid the latter.

You must be the same, do you use any platforms or avoid them all and only trust mn?

I’ll add I’ll just use a VPN as many others will. If you’re ok with the gov knowing your data just then you can not use one.

But Kemi et al are the ones who’ve been pushing it the most.

I Have only recently switched to thinking a ban is necessary as I know Molly Russel’a dad isn’t supportive and some of his reasoning.

I also don’t think it’s been fully thought through. At the same time I think there needs to be more action than there has been

I guess if I trusted the govt to be bringing this in because of concern for children I might agree, and that would be a positive outcome.

Unfortunately I think it's possible they're using it as a Trojan horse for digital ID.

What can be more digital about ID than already happens?

Passports, driving licences, online tax/HMRC details, what’s the difference of a ‘digital ID’ to what they already hold?

There will be access; KS said as much in his speech.

But it’s the start of a culture change. Current KS1 children should be impacted positively the most.

Tories wanted a ban sooner, Labour wanted to wait for more result from Australia.

However, children are actually actively being harmed by access to this stuff.

Anecdotally kids from private schools locally have had the most access in the past and awful levels of bullying.

I also recently heard of a private school 15 yr old (I know the mum) who developed panic attacks as she couldnt keep up with her Instagram content for her large numbers of followers.

Yes, and yet whats app isn’t going to be part of the ban. That’s partly why a ban won’t stop harm being done to children. It will give parents a false sense of security. The only way of protecting children is by having an adult monitoring their online activity, teaching them about the dangers from a young age and ensuring their phone settings etc are set up as securely as possible. That article mentions Molly Russell. Interestingly, her dad isn’t in support of a social media ban.

Do you trust Meta with your personal data more than the government?

The government already hold all your information for tax/HMRC, driving licences, passports, via the electoral roll, address details via local government for council tax etc etc etc?

What data do you think the government doesn’t already hold about you? Unless you’re living ‘off grid’ which I doubt I think the state knows a fair bit about you already.

Youtube had been banned in our house since it started pushing shorts. They are clearly awful for attention spans and designed to be overly addictive.