Keir Starmer says that early access to social media has an impact on children’s development, particularly on school work, reading, the ability to socialize and even sleep
The United Kingdom will join Australia in banning access for under-16s to the main social media applications, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced this Monday.
“Social networks are making children unhappy. They are making it easier for bullies to harass and mistreat them, and they may even be damaging their mental health. They are exposing them to dangerous content, because that is what attracts attention. They are designed to be addictive”, he maintained.
This impacts children’s development, including school work, reading, their ability to socialize and even sleep, she said.
The prime minister acknowledged that social media can have benefits on young people, but added that governing is “always about choices” that “of course a total ban is the right choice.”
Starmer admitted that it won’t be easy to take on social media companies, and that it will be difficult to legislate and enforce such a ban, but he promised to move forward and also force gaming platforms to stop children being able to chat with strangers.
This measure, which does not yet have a date to come into effect, joins the United Kingdom with countries such as Australia, Canada, Brazil and Indonesia, which have introduced legislation or announced restrictions or age-based requirements for children’s access to social media.
