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.

This needs tackling from a variety of angles. Social media companies need to do more, the government needs to use the law and parents need to do their bit too.
I absolutely think anyone under 15 should not have a social media. I said on another thread that the damage it is doing to our children is a public health crisis.

I know why.

It's because the government's economic strategy is hinged on prioritising making the UK a powerhouse / world leader in AI. They are investing huge amounts in digital - for example I am sure the announcing civil service cuts and scalling back will be assisted by AI efficiencies to continue to deliver what they do with less people.

So banning social media for under 16s will be incongruous with the strategy for the future, young people being key in future economic strategy.

I absolutely would not rely on government to act. Look at the history of how long it took for action of historic child sexual Exploitation and the recognition that its not a young person's fault. Even that is a fragile progress - it just takes a pendulum swing back towards appalling attitudes that keep abuse hidden or swept under the carpet.

So I think the options are pushing to ban smart phones in schools, parents being more firm, someone launching a company that makes safe mobiles and safe social networks, a media campaign/protests, and legal action / use of the law by members of the public in cases against social media firms.

Absolutely agree.
I think it’s lazy and negligent parents who will fight for it rather than have to consider being firm with their children.

We don’t need a government ban (though it would be welcome). All parents have to do is go to their child’s smartphone and delete TikTok, IG, Snap and whatever other app they feel is having a negative influence. Keep what ever generic messaging app they want to use to communicate with their child. Will that end online bullying, porn disseminating etc - no, but it will go a long way.

Will there be arguments in the house, yes. Will there be tears, yes. Will their child shout and scream, yes. It’s all worthwhile.

Thats what I did and it was the best decision I ever made. My children admit they are far happier and feel better.

That’s all it takes.

Oh wow I want this for myself 😂

https://www.thebalancephone.com/products/balance-phone

Smart phones are just devices, they are not inherently dangerous. The issue comes with how they are used and what they are used to do.

My DC have used smartphones to learn Spanish, cook recipes, keep in touch with relatives overseas and find directions. I won’t be banning them from the modern world because other parents want the state to parent for them.

Are this group going to advocate removing TVs from under 16s because there are porn channels available?

I am sceptical that your view is shared by a majority of parents or that an increased age limit would have any effect tbh. I have a dd in y7 (age 11) and many of her friends have TikTok/insta which parents must be happy with.

i do agree that the response to a Netflix drama is somewhat hysterical though, and wonder why - eg how the response would have differed if Jamie’s family was of an ethnic minority or living in poverty. People seem to think it isn’t fictional?

I agree that something should be done to restrict access, even though it would be very difficult (impossible?) to police it. Legislation prohibiting under-16s from having a smartphone, for example, would at least give parents some clout when refusing to get their youngsters a phone. It's easier to say "I can't give you a phone because it's against the law" rather than "I don't think you should have one till you're older".

Smartphones should definitely not be allowed in schools. If children need a phone to contact their parents, they can have a simple brick phone - or use the phone in the school office.

It hasn't made much difference, though. My 9 & 12 year olds pester me because their friends use social media. Not FB or insta, but so many more.

YouTube is still available. Its much, much worse.

Money, money, money.

Anyone with a leave pension possibly has share in the likes of Meta and Google and so there is a vast vested economic interest in ensuring there is a new generation of users for these products no matter what the damage to young people. How much lobbying were tobacco firms able to apply to government before smoking was increasingly made unaccptable? How much do oil companies spend in lobbying about the virtues of hydrocarbons despite the evidence of climate change.

To my mind social media for the young epitomizes corporate greed and history is not going to look kindly on this.

I think that shipped has sales. How are you going to ban it? Tech savvy kids will soon get around the technical aspects, and parents aren’t going to police it.

YANBU should come with a warning for adults too. There’s no conversation anymore, people literally cannot function without it. It’s so damaging.
If there’s ever a nuclear war, they can just throw us in bunkers with our socials lol

OK how would you ban it,, parents create accounts for under age children as it is now let alone when it is 'banned', have to put id details into sign up? Will that information be kept safely?

People can use fake date of birth, so if it is actually banned how would that work on a practical level?

I was very strict with screentime (dd had hardly any) until l couldn't be any more - as soon as she started secondary, she needed her phone. I have google family link which isn't fit for purpose really as she is now 13 apparently kids can override it.
I think kids really struggle to self regulate on these devices which l know isn't op's question but look at snapchat - if they lose their streak, it's a disaster. Made to be addictive
Yes sm should be banned for kids imo.

Agree, my teens don’t have it and are happier because of that. ALL the issues friends teens seem to have at the moment are directly linked to their SM use. Sharing too much, friendship issues, bullying, anxiety, - it’s awful.
Mine are still affected because they see others SM just not to the same extent.

I've noticed it's mainly the older parents who let their kids have unrestricted internet access, give them iPads age 3 etc. Say what you want about me becoming a mum at 16 but at least I'm young enough to understand how the internet works and how easy it is for kids to stumble upon something fucked up online.

Anyway I'm sure in the next five or ten years as people of my generation become parents at more respectable ages you'll see more parents not letting their kids use social media

Social media has totally morphed from how it started and how it was, I expect, intended to be used. I don't think banning smartphones themselves is the answer. We use them for so many useful things too. Homework is set using an app, payment cards, online banking etc. You might argue teens don't need that but it's how we manage our money in the modern world so yes they do. Our society is increasingly cashless.
Parents are so anxious about everything. Children are not learning real world skills from playing out and going on adventures with their friends. Youth clubs have all but disappeared. We all want to keep our children safe but at the same time we are failing to teach them how to manage risks for themselves.
Social media is abused by big marketing companies and algorithms make it a topic echo chamber. As adults we know this but individually are powerless to stop it. I don't know what the answer is but it's a wider problem than just banning phones.

I do wish people would not be reductive and also have a bit more compassion and empathy these days.

I'm part of the generation of parents that has had to have their kids grow up in the age of social media in full force.

It's very easy for both older and younger generations to criticise. I see it so much on every platform.

What I think is often missed in this debate is why DC are becoming so addicted to phones.

My older DC were teens in the 2010s and they were always out with friends at the cinema, playing football etc. They had freedom to be independent.

There was a thread on here the other day proclaiming that it was too dangerous for a 14 year old to walk 20 minutes down the street. Clearly DC are going to be attached to phones if you tell them the real world is so dangerous.

I agree the ship has sailed but God it's depressing.

Why didn't people forced this though in the late 90s early 2000s?Government was completely inept at forecasting the consequences of probably more likely seeing opportunities for economic growth.

The psychological impact of social media in the formative years of development is going to breed research articles for decades.

Maybe we can just mitigate the problem by early inclusion of SM in personal development lessons? We won't ban smoking entirely but we can tell children about king cancer from an early age.

The solution needs to be in the hardware not the software.
A certain type of phone needs to be for u16s, it could make calls, texts, take photos and download necessary apps such as homework, bus timetables, online books etc. But wouldn't have the ability to download social media or have free range internet.
I know this can also be achieved by software means, but software can always be circumvented.

Generally kids and adults split into 2 groups - the ones that follow the rules and the ones that don’t.

If social media was banned then yes, some kids and indeed adults would easily get round it.

However, for us as parents it would be a huge help in our efforts to restrict / ban it as we can also add “plus it’s illegal” to all the other reasons we currently give.

it would give more confidence to those parents who want to ban it but are currently in the very passive group at the moment who seem to feel they have no choice.

it would make some parents rethink their choices - oh shit I didn’t think it was that bad but if it’s illegal
maybe we should restrict it a bit more

all of the above can only be a step in the right direction!!

Just because it will be hard and it will be imperfect it doesn’t mean we just give up.

My kids got phones when they started secondary school. I checked them randomly but got a bit lax with my youngest and left it a few weeks once. Noticed she was falling asleep during the day and discovered 2 things. She had ' made friends ' with a boy in Australia and was messaging him in middle of night.
She was also being groomed by older boys at school who were sending her videos of them ejaculating and asking her to send them videos back.
She had just turned 13. I reacted very badly as was so shocked. Rather than see her as the victim she was, I shouted about how we trusted her to be sensible and she had betrayed that and now we would have to call the police etc etc.And tell school and involve safeguarding etc.
The police said it was so rife there was little they could do and just let school deal with it. I have no idea what school did but main perpetrator still went on to be head boy that year so I cannot see that he got more than a talking to.
My daughter was totally traumatised by the whole thing, including my reaction which terrified her( I am not proud of that) but did delete all social media and has never used it again, ( now 18)
She was/is the sweetest, brightest child. Please do not ever assume that your child will not be caught up in stuff like this. If you let them have a smart phone, please check it every few days, including looking at shared images. If they get to 15 plus and have been trustworthy to that point then maybe it is time to offer them privacy but it is a dangerous world out there on social media😭😭😭😭😭

Agreed OP but the big problem is that the social media companies hold all the power. If a political party was to try and implement this the entire internet would be turned against them and they would never be elected. It’s pretty similar to how no one wants to take on the tabloid press

All the social media / smart phone parents are now arriving to tell us why it just needs to be regulated more / it’ll never work etc.

Well I say bollocks! Social media is ruining our children’s lives. Wake up!!

My kids don’t have smart phones or social media. They’re banned from schools where I live and it won’t be long before social media for under 16s is too.