To think we absolutely have to ban social media for under 16s.

[Bitethehandthatfeedsyou]

I just don’t understand with all evidence that we have to say how awful it is for young people why we’re not banning in for under 16s. I’ve not spoken to 1 parent who wouldn’t be in favour of it.

I do know it’s not a silver bullet and there is ann idea that young people would be penalised for big tech not taking responsibility for exploiting children.

Quite rightly smoking, vaping and alcohol are out of bounds for under 18s and arguably access to social media and a young age is as harmful / more harmful than any of these.

On a cynical note too, surely it would be a huge vote winner for whichever party goes about implementing it too.

Absolutely agree, the data around this is overwhelming at this point. There seems to be a bit of a movement in our local schools with a lot of parents holding the same opinion around smartphones/social media which really helps to implement rules around this, but we need action at a national level to really have an impact. Where there is opposition it seems to come from those with older kids who have made different decisions, almost taking it as a personal insult which is a shame as it stifles reasonable discussion.

💯 We need policy change though. Parents cannot put the toothpaste back in the tube on their own.

I think this lets social media companies off the hook. And how would it work in practice? You can have all the age-checking software you want but it’s pretty easy to write down your Mum’s debit card number or take a photo of her driving licence or whatever else is needed for an online ID check…. And would we really trust Meta etc with this data?

The problem lies with the social media companies themselves, and the content they allow on their platforms - not with the age of the users. If the content isn’t suitable for a 15-year-old it won’t be suitable for a 16-year-old either!

Mine are older now and thankfully seem relatively unscathed but my niece was relentlessly bullied on tik tok and yet she still used to post all the time. It was just like an addiction. I remember once my sister took her phone away and it was honestly like a drug addict having their fix taken away.

There is no way parents can be expected to do this on there own and it’s terrible to think of the next generation of kids having access to so many things we know damage them.

Societies rules and policies for children isn't about keeping them safe and well. It's about moulding them to become taxpayers. Smoking, drinking, sex etc is banned because those activities can lead to health issues and becoming a drain on the public finances.

Social media won't be banned. All it does really is cause mental health problems, which the governments don't believe is bad enough to need additional help or not be able to work. Perhaps the odd dead girl due to Andrew Gate fans, but society doesn't really care.

On the flipside, getting stuck into social media teaches them skills they need for the increasingly digital labour market, as well as allows them to be marketed to in the form of adverts and influencers. Kids being on social media gives another avenue to mould them.

It's not going anywhere. It's too powerful a tool.

Even if we cannot 100% ban it, a significant reduction would make a difference. I am sure if there is a will from government, the main social media companies could be forced into making changes.

If parents are in favour of it then they could stop their own children from using it now. Even if they banned it completely it would still come down to the parents to make sure that kids don’t find a way around it.

I don’t think it’s necessary to ban. Better to teach responsible use.

TBH I don’t know, but it would be a start.

As with the environment, self regulation by individuals and individual companies has failed. It’s time for govt to correct market failures.

Australia banned it for under 16's last year

But how? It’s like an addiction for so many kids and it’s absolutely designed to be like that.

Wow the poll says it all.! It scares me too

my dc had facebook from younger which was fine, mostly they were friends with family and i monitored it, but they didn’t have smartphones because they were still not ubiquitous, both had one for their 13th birthday.

The key is good parental supervision and the dc being mature enough to discern right from wrong along with an open conversation so they will report to you any problems. Closed media like WhatsApp groups in a way are worse because you as a parent can’t see it

How would this be enforced though?

I understand that alcohol and cigarettes aren’t sold to people under 16/18, but that’s because there is an adult human being at the cashier checking proof of age.

How can an iPad, or computer or an App verify a users age? Usually it just asks “Are you over 18 years old?” and you just have to click on either the yes or no option. A 7 year old could do that.

And most cunning teenagers have the ability to obtain their parent’s credit card or ID to access things online that they shouldn’t be if such information is asked for.

My son doesn’t have unsupervised access to the internet but the amount of his friends who have phones with internet access on amazes me. I have seen and heard some of the content they watch and it horrifies me.

As another poster said, there should be an element of safe use of the platforms being taught to the children, but ultimately peer pressure is very strong in school, and if parents don’t have some level of supervision of what their tween/teenager is accessing then things will spiral.

Social media needs much much tighter regulation for everyone. There’s a book coming out which claims Facebook/Meta sold data to companies including information on when a teenage girl has deleted a selfie, so cosmetic surgery/ weight loss, skin care advertising can target her relentlessly when she’s at her lowest. I mean that is just all shades of fucked up.
We need to have honest conversations about our own SM too. Can we really control it for teens if we ourselves are addicted?

Or parents could not give their children a smartphone until they’re 16. But that’ll never happen. Many parents use smartphones as a convenient babysitter, giving their children these devices but not accepting any responsibility. Why has the onus got to be on the government making a law. How on earth would it be policed?

I think the response to this adolescence show is getting way out of proportion now.

Banning social media is a very simplistic idea. Like it or not, it is here to stay and DC need to be taught how to use it safely. Tech giants also should be regulated so that they’re not pushing harmful content at young people.

For me, the idea of handing 16 year olds total freedom on social media (when they are also becoming more independent in other areas) would be disastrous. Far better that it takes place from 13 and they have the support and supervision of parents.

I also think a big part of the issue is DC not having enough independence in ‘real life’, so they are becoming addicted to social media. I had teens in the 2010s, and this was not nearly as big an issue. Parents have now become too overprotective in stopping DC from accessing the real world, so many are spending all their time on TikTok.

Or parents could, parent.

Would make more sense to enforce the current age limit first. If 13 is ignored then 16 will be too.

And what classes as social media? YouTube seems quite problematic too when it's unsupervised but I don't think it's SM as such is it?

Generally I think kids lives are made significantly worse by access to the Internet.

I feel the irony though as I grew up with out any of it (got dial up when I was about 9) and now my phone is welded to my phone.....

It will never happen and like banning anything, it will just drive it underground, kids will find a way. Not all parents would support it, so some kids would have it. It’s too late to turn the tap off. Maybe children’s phones should have restrictions on them, though ways around that too. Mine are 30, 20 and 17 and all grown up with social media, though not as much for the 30yr old. My DD chose not to use tik tok until she was around 15. I don’t think she is a major social media user even now. She herself sees the negatives from it.

Yes, I agree. While I do allow my kids to play games and watch YouTube, I check what they watch and their settings on games are controlled so no messages or voice chats, I draw the line at social media or any 2 way communications basically.

I am surprised by the reactions of close family members when this has come up. One person feels like it's an invasion of privacy to check up on kids like that, and one thinks that it's unfair because all their friends have it so they will feel left out.

I don't trust either of their judgements on this to be honest. And luckily I think it will be much more common for children to not have smart phones etc by the time my kids (oldest is 9) are old enough to think about this.

I’d say that most parents do just that. But it’s really overwhelming and for this generation of kids and parents, it’s unprecedented.

not true. SO many parents are deciding not to give their children smartphones. Much easier if you know a few likeminded parents. You can set up a local or school WhatsApp group, which is what I did at my children’s schoos
https://smartphonefreechildhood.co.uk/join/
also, smartphone alternatives:
https://smartphonefreechildhood.co.uk/alternatives

I agree. Withnthis statement and what the op is saying. I have a pre teen and all social media is valued including you tube. Dc can only use you tube if they are looking up something specific. Ie. Volcanic eruptions.

Dc also has a phone but no access to data and media. Not sure how long we can get away with this as dc is yr7.

Parents need to step up and make access to their children acceptable to them. Whatever that may be. It starts at home. The government can help when parents need someone to blame.

Sugar intake, screen time, social media etc are all under the purview of parenting. It's a choice.