Hundreds of UK teenagers to trial six-week social media curbs for major study | Social media ban
Hundreds of UK teenagers will trial social media bans, digital curfews and time limits on apps as part of a government pilot. advice It will decide whether the UK will ban under-16s from accessing social media.
During testing run by the UK government, some of the 300 young people from four UK countries will have their social apps disabled, “mimicking the enforcement of a social media ban at home”.
Another group will have their access to the most popular social media apps for teens, including Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat, blocked overnight or limited to one hour of use. Others will face no restrictions, so the experiences of the test group can be compared. The pilots will last six weeks and test how different restrictions affect young people’s daily lives.
Technology secretary Liz Kendall said it was about “testing different options in the real world”.
“These pilots will give us the evidence we need to take next steps based on families’ experiences,” he said.
Nearly 30,000 parents and children responded to the government’s appeal digital wellbeing consultancyIt closes on May 26. An independent study, along with pilots and consultancy, will be the world’s first major scientific trial of the impact of reducing social media use among teenagers.
The study, funded by the Wellcome Trust and jointly led by the Bradford Health Research Institute and Cambridge University psychologist Prof Amy Orben, will examine changes in anxiety and sleep quality, time spent with friends and family, wellbeing, body image, social comparison, school absences and bullying. Around 4,000 pupils aged 12-15 from 10 secondary schools in Bradford will take part in the research.
Ministers have faced growing pressure to follow up on Australia’s move to ban under-16s from accessing social media sites. France, Spain and Indonesia are also considering such a ban. In November, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on age limits. Although not legally binding, it is increasing pressure on European legislation amid growing alarm over the mental health risks to children of unrestricted internet access.
Earlier this month, the proposed ban was rejected by lawmakers. But on Wednesday, peers will vote on the ban as it is put forward again as an amendment to the child welfare and schools bill introduced by Conservative peer and former minister John Nash.
Reacting to the pilot, Lord Nash said: “These pilots are half-measures that, once again, put pressure on parents rather than holding big tech to account and stopping the terrible harm that social media is inflicting on a generation.”
Bereaved parents have written to MPs urging them to support the ban and said they were “deeply concerned” about the consultation. They wrote: “Announced at 11am, days before your previous vote. It proposes an ‘expert panel’ of academics but leaves little or no room for those on the front line, seeing the consequences every day, such as GPs, police officers and others dealing with the reality of harm as it unfolds.”
They called on MPs to “act now”, adding: “Parents in the UK right now are not waiting for consultation or future reviews. They are watching their children scroll, message and engage on platforms they know are unsafe. They are trying to set boundaries without the backing of the law. They are afraid, overwhelmed and doing everything they can to protect their children in a system that is not designed to help them.”
NSPCC chief executive Chris Sherwood said a social media ban would be better than the current situation if the government did not take action to tackle “failing” tech companies. The charity called on ministers to force tech companies to keep under-13s off social media, stop them from making their platforms highly addictive for young people, and use the law to ensure tech companies protect children from receiving and sharing illegal images.
