I’d be really pissed off if you banned my kids from a useful tool that make their and my life easier and better because you can’t handle teaching them how to use it and supervising it. My kids use the “smart” bit of their smart phones to get around on public transport, do their school work, manage their money, talk to their family abroad, arrange to meet up, learn Spanish, keep their schedules, and read books, amoung many other things.
They also use a fair bit of social media. I realise a lot of teens have problems with social media, but it’s not universally bad. I’d get behind a campaign that tried to look at the pockets of kids that are using it well (like my teens and their mates seem to) and try and replicate those practices. Also campaigns that, with the appropriate evidence, regulated how social media companies work. But not a ban on something that keeps them connected to peers and lets them pursue interests.
What’s the point of just banning social media until 16? Plenty of adults who never had smart phones as kids seems to be unable to use it well. How are we developing good practice by just banning?