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.

Outstanding post @FusionChefGeoff

I see social media as a bit like class A addictive drugs. We can teach about responsible use but its very difficult for the majority to stick to responsible use because of the nature of it.

Smart phone denier right here

Would be impossible to police. Older children can be a bit devious, and would get round any restrictions. The best way is for parents to educate their children on the pros and cons of social media, and have appropriate conversations with them. Like stranger danger - we as parents speak to our children about this, and also the importance of setting boundaries etc within situations with friends and family (most abuse happens from people they know), so parents should be proactive with education round social media stuff too.

If we're relying on that these days then we're fucked.

Yes just like drugs, alcohol and smoking. Just teach them to be responsible.

Absolutely agree with you there - it is parents who didn’t know the risks (and why would they have done, it’s not their fault!) and allowed theirs to have SM from a young age who don’t seem to be in favour of banning it.

@ladeedarwith respect, you are on SM right now, as am I. These apps are designed to be highly highly addictive for everyone, it’s designed for life long high engagement. Crack isn’t anywhere near as addictive as flashing images of our special interests, or constant conversation at anytime of day. Or the ability to argue with people at anytime, or receive compliments or view other people’s private lives. Right now, I know that a woman I spoke to once at a party is having chemo today. There is no precedent for this and the impact on our brain chemistry is shocking.

This is the rule for our children, but we don't have the pressure of school to worry about. Their friends are the same, they all have non-smart phones until 16+, no social media and there's a noticeable difference.

When a new technology is invented people panic about it and there are calls to crack down. It was the same with cinema, TV etc. Of course there are risks, but there is also a degree of hysteria going on here.

We really need to be teaching young people how to navigate the online world safely and make tech companies make that world safer, not ban it.

https://smartphonefreechildhood.co.uk/alternatives
A bunch of alternatives shown here. The selection will grow with more demand, but there’s stuff available now, depending on what you want

We have incredibly tight controls on our kids’ phones and on our household devices as well. This seems to be working well.

I can’t see how this could be implemented in practice.

Quite rightly smoking, vaping and alcohol are out of bounds for under 18s

This only shows that a ban wouldn’t work. Teens still do these things.

Personally, I think that the answer lies with parents and schools. If a school bans smartphones, it becomes much less of a “thing” with the children. Our school doesn’t allow smartphones until 6th form and, on the whole, this works really well. There’ll be an odd one or two children caught with a phone, but the vast majority abide by the rule and certainly don’t use phones during the day.

As parents, we can stop children using certain social media. Parents just need to stand firm, be savvy about how some teens will try to circumvent the rules, and ensure they check their phones intermittently. If children are kept busy with homework, sport, music etc, they have less time to waste on social media. The screen addiction starts younger and younger. Screens are increasingly used as babysitters. There is no need for a child to have a screen in a pushchair or in a restaurant for example. If a child is brought up where screens aren’t the default entertainment, they are less likely to view them as such when they are teens.

ETA. I think a total ban almost makes it more tempting for teens as well. Personally, I think that introducing them gradually (with some of the less harmful apps for example) and teaching responsible use is better. It’s like alcohol etc. At uni, those who had parents who were very strict about alcohol and boyfriends etc, were the ones who went wild as soon as they left home. Teaching responsible behaviour is a better idea I think.

How would it work in practice though? What would the punishment be? How would it be enforced?

Most SM platforms are 13+ and you still get kids as young as 7/8 on them , which is actively facilitated by their parents. Not just that, but when the account is flagged as underage and blocked, parents use their details to get it unblocked , or they just make a new account.

If “banning” and rules really worked there would be no under 13 on SM.

Yep!
My DS is 7 so a little too young for me to worry about this just yet - although I still very much do worry about it.
I plan on being very strict with phones and socials when he gets older. I’ve always been a parent that never believed in him having his own portable devices, shock horror - he actually has to sit and engage with us when we eat out etc.

What worries me is that when he is old enough to start playing out with his mates, it’ll only take ONE of his friends to have a smart phone with unrestricted access to the internet to show him content I do now want him to see. How do I control that?!

For those asking what the logistics of the ban would be I don’t know, maybe when it’s being added as an app they need to add their passport… maybe not. But I am sure there are much cleverer people out there than me that who would know how to implement it.

it’ll only take ONE of his friends to have a smart phone with unrestricted access to the internet to show him content I do now want him to see. How do I control that?!

You can’t control that unfortunately. This is why I believe schools should ban smart phones, and parents need to warn their children that this type of thing will happen, and what to do when it does.

Interesting, thank you. My kids are all too old to benefit now, unfortunately they grew up in the thick of all the new advances.
I knew 'dumb" phones existed, but they are too restrictive. Didn't realise there were already some halfway measures. I'd looked at some restricted "simple" smartphones for my non techy mum, but the restrictions were all based on software.

Re smart phones I know someone whose son went to a market research exercise recently for a big phone company and it was about a new phone for younger people which was something between a brick and smart phone so there is def a market and hopefully something in the works.

The current approach to alcohol doesn’t work, though. The U.K. has very high levels of alcohol abuse and harm despite very strict rules.

I have relatives in Spain, where alcohol is a normal part of life that DC see and experience from a young age. Here, it is always those who’ve never had alcohol who go crazy when they go to uni.

Last time I was over, a group of parents with prams arrived in a bar at 10pm on a Monday evening. Social services would be called here! Spain has much lower rates of alcohol abuse.

I was at secondary in the early-mid 2010s so in the infancy of Instagram and Snapchat when they were more 'basic', and even then SC was a ceasepit, dick pics, topless pics etc, which were then subsequently screenshot. Not to mention the addiction of 'streaks' (are they even a thing anymore?!), so people would take a photo of random stuff in classes/breaks. Any future child of mine I would highly limit access to social media.

Exactly this. It’s much better to teach children responsible use rather than banning it. The teens I know with a total ban are the ones who just do it in secret.

My just turned 15yr old is still on, I wasnt going to ban her. We told her if they banned her account just make a new one with an adjusted birthdate, friends parents were the same

She found her tribe, her safe space on SM during her bullying saga - which was all in person at school, nothing online.
and she could stay in contact with interstate friends easily, one who is now overseas so SM is so much easier for them

So it would safe to have peoples passport details sent to lots of different online companies?

I have older DC in their 20s who grew up when smart phones were just coming in but before TikTok etc. I also have DC now at secondary. My approach has always been education and support rather than banning, and it has worked well.

My teens now have exactly the same real-life freedoms as their older siblings (and all their friends) had at that age, and are into sport and seeing friends. They even prefer print books, magazines and newspapers than reading on screens!

The biggest thing that would reduce phone addiction is parents unclenching and allowing their DC to experience the real world rather than being afraid of it.