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The UK government has announced a social media ban for under-16s, which it says is expected to come into force next spring.
Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, X and Facebook will all be blocked. It will also ban under-16 access for “user-to-user platforms” that enable social interaction between users and allow them to post material.
Keir Starmer said the changes were a “line in the sand” for tech companies that had failed to keep children safe.
We asked parents and carers what their thoughts were on the ban. Here are some of their responses.
I feel relief. My sons (aged 12 and 10) are just getting to the age where this was going to be entering their lives via friends (whether we liked it or not). We have worked so hard as a family to try to protect them from the online world and the harm it can bring, whilst educating them that it is a very useful tool if used appropriately. It has taken us hours, possibly days overall, to set up any device our sons have access to in as safe a way as possible (and even then, they and the settings need regular monitoring).
It has also felt like, until very recently, you were the only parent brave enough to say no, that the pervasive social norm is to just hand them a phone at age 11 and hope for the best. It is such a relief that the social norm is shifting, the harms these digital products do to our children are being dragged out into the light and their manufacturers see that parents will not tolerate it any more.
There must be accountability and adaptation of these products as a result of this ban. Shona, 46, former teacher, Leeds
The genie is out of the bottle
I have a 14-year-old son, and stepdaughters aged 11 and 14. They are horrified. That’s how they communicate with their friends and peers, and their lives revolve around the memes and jokes.
My stepdaughter said she’ll just do what they’ve done in Australia – find a VPN. She told me that there are loads of TikToks on how to do this.
The genie is out of the bottle. We can’t just snuff it out. I like the idea of some kind of ban, but it has to be proportional to age and how long they’ve been using the apps. How can anyone go from several hours a day to nothing? They will get bullied or picked on more. Some of their friends will be over 16 and some not. It would be much better to restrict certain elements of the apps, and make it school year-based. Jake, 49, works in the music business, Hertfordshire
‘Starmer will have done one concrete thing to protect children from these companies’
If this is Starmer’s only legacy then at least he will have done one concrete thing to protect children against these predatory companies.
The younger ones, twins aged nine, aren’t too happy about the ban but the eldest, 16, thinks it’s a great idea as she has seen how friends have struggled with social media. Alexandra*, in her 40s, designer, Norfolk
I think the social media ban is an absolute waste of time and does nothing to actually protect children. It absolves social media companies of all responsibility.
I have a 16-year-old and a six-year-old, and I don’t think the social media ban is right for either of them. Children will find ways to bypass any ban and will feel uncomfortable talking to their parents or other trusted adults if they come across something that distresses them because of the ban. Jan*, primary school SENDCo, Oxfordshire
‘We’re trying to fix the symptoms and not the disease’
We’re trying to fix the symptoms and not the disease. The tech companies don’t have to change if we just “punish” the user. Make the dealer change, not the addicts. Governments are scared of the power these companies have, hence ban the user instead.
I have a son who’s 16 and one who is 24. My 16-year-old lives on his phone, but we’ve educated him about content, etc, which is all we can do. My oldest says it’s way too late. Change the algorithms because that’s what creates the harm. Joe, 63, mental health nurse, Stockport
‘A blanket ban on specific apps will drive kids to less well-monitored networks’
I’m broadly in favour of the principle, but I feel it’s too simplistic and technically unworkable. A blanket ban on specific, named apps will simply drive kids to even less well-monitored networks, potentially increasing the risk of harm. It would also require rigorous, mandated age checks, which not even China’s state apparatus can do effectively.
My son is nine and hasn’t yet expressed more than a passing interest in having a phone. We’re not intending to get him one, but he is allowed to watch some YouTube under our supervision.
Mental health problems are certainly rising in children, but it has been accepted as an article of faith that social media is directly causal. I also worry that some vulnerable children will find themselves cut off from avenues of support and connection that are helping rather than hurting them. This ban will not be a panacea. Terry, 51, IT and network engineer, Oxford
‘I feel the real difference will be felt in the next generation’
This is great news. Of course a lot of the focus has been on current teenagers but I feel the real difference here will be felt in the next generation … the children still too young to know about technology. This will mean it’s so much easier for parents to provide a consistent message to help keep children off social media by default.
I have a two-and-a-half-year-old. We have not introduced any screens and having a screen-free early childhood, at least like so many of us grew up with, is not something that takes effort to achieve for parents. Having a law like this at least gives me confidence this country is doing something positive for when our son will grow older. Onkardeep, 39, works in technology, London
*Name has been changed
