Why do people want teens on social media??

Exactly and parents that are determined to find away round it .why do you want your kids in social media so strange.

Social media has been associated by a large amount of damage particularly to this age bracket.
No one is talking about deaths, you’re being obtuse.

Even judging by this thread - yes, a lot of work will go into convincing thr public and parents and that is just so mind boggling, because we do have the research to prove it, we do have children who were harmed…

I know that many of the parents of the children in my dc’s class will ignore it. They are too ‘cool’ - I don’t know?

Also wish people would stop comparing SM to alcohol or cigarettes. Apples and oranges. One kills millions of people worldwide every year, the other has been linked to a minute number of incredibly sad stories where someone has been bullied and taken their own life. It isn’t the same.

The only people are know on Bluesky are academics. I don’t even think teens know what it is.

And I’m sure there will be parents who facilitate their children in circumventing the social media age limit too. Does that mean it shouldn’t exist?

Those saying it’s impacting their rights as parents to make decisions. I would say there are far too many people not imposing appropriate boundaries in relation to screen time and access to social media.

As a teen and tween parent I understand too well how challenging it is.

However, I support it. It is a pain for my tween as she loves to watch particular videos on it relating to a hobbie - but such is life!

But many people are happy introducing safe alcohol drinking at home before their children are 16

Because this government have introduced it? If Keir Starmer was handing out the keys to paradise and the secret of everlasting life you'd have people bleating about it being a leftie conspiracy to silence opposition by giving them nothing to oppose. Or something.

Yes, I picked my 11 year old up from a party the other day and all the other kids there (aged 10-11) were sat on their phones on TikTok. My daughter said she was the only one there who didn’t have it.

Why should my light come on at a supermarket self check out when it’s clear I am over 16/18/25? Depends what I’m buying, but if I want the product then I need to agree to that check. If those extra couple of minutes which take forever in certain places, Boots I’m looking at you means a layer of check which supports the health and safety of people much younger than me, why kick up a fuss if I’m a legitimate consumer of the product?

So far almost the entirety of MN who is anti the ban is saying ‘my child is sensible, we have limits on it, they only use SM for around half an hour a day’… fine, I guess that means that all those children who are on it for 8-9 hours a day to the exclusion of all other activities, who walk home from school in groups of friends all staring at their phones, who sit in groups at the park all staring at their phones etc don’t have parents on MN. Those kids still exist though. And their parents aren’t parenting them properly, so what’s going to suddenly start making them do so?
We already have age limits on films/TV programmes/games etc. An age limit on certain social media sites is just an extension of that.
Equally there has always been an age limit on these sites (13). Parents ignored it. So I imagine they’ll try and find ways round this one too.

I'd go as far as saying most don't. Most children are allowed access to apps such as Tiktok and Snapchat before they're they're supposed to..

100%!

A great idea, unfortunately that hasn't worked thus far.

The only people I've heard complaining about it in real life are people who's parenting seems to consist of throwing screens at them and not knowing how to say no.

But so far many of them aren’t. So how do you make them?

You’re not being unreasonable. I don’t see it as the state overreaching more than tech companies have already done - it’s the tech companies that have worked on these addictive apps for years and can push through them any agenda they may have. They can literally shape and control young minds and the parents are out of the their debt.
I see it in the same category as alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, and sex- it is not for children and it shouldn’t be left up to parents’ discretion.

People parent their own children!! Properly

what's your solution then? I've seen a few people say this but I don't know what the answer is.

I'm happy about it. We have age restrictions on games and films as well as a TV watershed.

For too long the internet has been a wild west with limited restrictions. I'd actually prefer it if social media didn't exist all for all the damage it's done. Not withstanding the political interference from bot farms, there's the scrolling habit that I hate myself for.

Numerous studies have been done about the psychological harm of social media and device addiction. I think this is a sensible step and should have come sooner.

Tech companies take all of the money yet accept none of the responsibility. They will not regulate themselves, their only aim is to maximise profits. This is where regulation has to step in. They can't be allowed to continue as they are, unfettered

Or to get rid of the age limit on buying alcohol.

This isn’t about children and social media and safety. This is digital id by the back door.

I'm not pro social media but I am anti the ban, my reason is simply that my husband and I should parent our children not the Government.

I want my children to grow up being taught how to use social media safely, how to moderate themselves and how to know when to raise alarms. The Government stepping in creates a cliff edge at 16 that makes getting access really exciting in the same way driving lessons are. I want it to feel mundane and just part of life.

And yet before this proposal where were all the people petitioning to get rid of film ratings because it created a nanny state?