Social media for kids has really been nothing but a drain on people’s mental health. I can see why the government would want to restrict such companies from reaching under 16s.
Ares_af on
Fingers crossed for this. They should extend the ban to 21 year old or even 25. It’s mind garbage.
judochop1 on
global, universal ban, right now. hit the red button g’wan!
StuntPaul on
I think when I was in my mid to late teens I would have been very offended at the idea of not being able to access social media.
Now in my mid-thirties and having deleted Facebook long ago, I totally understand why this is up for discussion, the pressure social media puts on young people is ridiculous and is directly contributing to the rise of all kinds of Mental Health issues.
I don’t think there is an easy solution but if everyone could start by at least acknowledging the harm it’s causing then we can have some serious discussions about restricting its use.
T-Roll- on
Just ban algorithms and dark patterns in it’s UX. It’ll have a much better impact on young people than totally banning social media. Like banning something has always worked in the past… but no, they won’t do that because money talks.
mpanase on
I don’t think a ban would go well in Europe. It doesn’t fit how we think.
But strong regulations that providers need to comply with to offer a specific under-18 experience? That’d be widely accepted, easy.
TulliusC on
Whys the government fucking around with stupid shit like this; banning pub garden smoking, not imprisoning women only men, etc. Its like the ministers of the departments are overexcited and desperate to make their marks. Just focus on the core issues. Pour all your energy into that. Nationalise essential infrastruture, build homes like crazy, rejoin EU trade block in someform so we can benefit from trade and protect our regulations from the pull of the US.
Purple_Woodpecker on
Nanny state nonsense from people who have no idea how the internet works or how easy it is to bypass these things. Banning stuff on the internet doesn’t work. If it’s on there, kids know how to get it. Like when they “banned” The Pirate Bay and UK traffic to the site reached historic highs afterwards, lol.
ForeignA1D on
And not a single kid under 16 would think of just lying about their age when signing up for a social media account..?? 🤡
Lo_jak on
Pandoras box is already open, good fucking luck with that idea.
Brondster on
That means Fortnite/COD is gunna become swamped soon ….
wagonwheels87 on
Much as I agree that social media can be an ill to society, I can’t help but wonder how many people it’s helped.
Mysterious_Good927 on
Banning social media under the guise of “mental health” so they can manipulate the next generation with news you would only find out about on the TV. Truth is finally rising to the top and they’re losing control of the narrative and they don’t like it.
Karazhan on
This is both good and bad in a way. Like I always think to myself that I got bullied all through school for being ginger. But that bullying stopped at the school gates when I went home and stayed there until I went back to school the next day. With social media, that shit follows you 24/7 and I don’t know how I would have coped.
On the other hand, I work in the Cyber Security side of things, and the idea of people needing to provide proof of identity in order to make social media accounts makes my skin crawl. Where will that info be stored? How secure will it be? Passports for example are golden tickets, you get that leaked and people are in for a world of hurt. How can they guarantee my details are safe with them?
Thirdly, what controls will be in place regarding repercussions for things? At the moment I can say I hate the government because my electric bill keeps going up, screw the government. What stops them from knocking on my door further down the line if they decide to take a stance on all Government bad mouthing? That’s the extreme bad side of the coin, but it does happen in some other countries these days.
It feels like they’ve been pushing for ID to be tied to social media across the board for some time now, and that they’re trying to get a foot in through the door by targeting the youngsters first.
LostnFoundAgainAgain on
I’m actually in support of this, but realistically, it is impossible to implement unless social media are required by law to identify individuals to create an account, and social media platforms are some of the worst when it comes to selling your data.
The issue in general around internet is that there are very few safe guards for children that are actually enforceable to the point that it becomes effective, it isn’t just social media but the internet in itself can really mess with young people’s mental wellbeing and their is little to be done without extreme measures.
The best safeguarding method would likely sit with parents, but the reality is that not every parent fully understands the technology and what their kid is doing on the internet.
I honestly believe the world wasn’t ready for the internet, don’t get me wrong the internet is absolutely one of humanity’s greatest invention, but we never thought about what could go wrong, look at all the disinformation, the cyber bullying, scams, changing the standard for being social and etc.. we never thought what to do about these things, and now they run rampant, and we have little way of fixing them without extreme measures that could damage our right to information or access of services.
MousseCareless3199 on
The issue with British government, and it’s not just the current government, is that their solution to the vast majority of issues that we face as a country is to either raise taxes or impose a ban.
People are getting too fat? Introduce a sugar tax. People are smoking too much? Tax it. Social media affecting people’s mental health? Ban it.
British government have no long term solution for anything and they are resistant to deal with the root cause of issues.
GhostRiders on
Will never happen. Let’s forget about the technical aspects for a moment, they will have defined what constitutes “Social Media” and this is where it will fail.
AnalThermometer on
Framing it as an under-16s ban is spin to get people on board. What it actually means is ID verification for EVERYONE, of all ages, but with under-16s being selectively banned from some platforms. You will have to scan your passport to access YouTube (which is counted as social media under the Aus rules) whether you’re aged 92 or 14.
Flaky-Delivery5417 on
Might as well ban it entirely at this point. It’s hardly improving society.
ratemychicken on
How will they enforce it though? There will be workarounds within hours.
conorxoxo on
Can they stop banning random things such as where we have a ciggie outside or how old you need to be to scroll insta and instead sort the economy out 🙏
ShotofHotsauce on
The kids will hate it but it will be a win-win for everyone involved, even if the kids don’t agree.
lemon-fizz on
Good. At least they’re attempting to try. Parents need to step in though. They are the root of the issue. I’m fucking gobsmacked how everyone has collectively decided kids can have smart phones and social media and access to porn and other adult things from such a young age. It absolutely infuriates me. No, your 11 year old doesn’t need an iPhone. A simple text and call based phone is adequate and should be the norm for children. Social media is toxic as hell and the other stuff they access is harmful to young minds (and adult minds for that matter).
BetaBowl on
I think with how uncontrollable and dangerous the Internet is getting, this is a good thing.
I was born before social media became such a monolith. When I was a kid, you talked to your age group naturally so you mentally aged alongside your peers.
The Internet forces an anonymity that you don’t know who you’re talking to and kids don’t know how to regulate their dumb opinions or ideas and can’t handle the pull of the rabbit holes that algorithms create.
Not mentioning how predatory things are becoming and the unregulated of AI and advertising…
It’s not a nanny state thing to say kids shouldn’t drink or smoke, and I don’t think it’s a bad idea for kids to be banned from the Internet.
If you have social media or paid for anything online, you’ve already put yourself out there lol
ShitHouses on
This would mean everyone having to verify their identifty with just about every website they sign up to.
WengersJacketZip on
Unenforceable and a terrible idea. Yes it needs regulating, this is not the way.
Clive__Warren on
Does this government know how to do anything other than tax, regulate and ban?
AJFrostXXL on
Can we do this for over 65s too?
Cause with their levels of technical illiteracy and the resulting bizarre trust of the Internet – it’s scary. And they can vote!
Cynical_Classicist on
Well… who can say? Maybe if it stops them shovelling down shit from creeps like Musk and Tate this might be a good thing.
29 Comments
Social media for kids has really been nothing but a drain on people’s mental health. I can see why the government would want to restrict such companies from reaching under 16s.
Fingers crossed for this. They should extend the ban to 21 year old or even 25. It’s mind garbage.
global, universal ban, right now. hit the red button g’wan!
I think when I was in my mid to late teens I would have been very offended at the idea of not being able to access social media.
Now in my mid-thirties and having deleted Facebook long ago, I totally understand why this is up for discussion, the pressure social media puts on young people is ridiculous and is directly contributing to the rise of all kinds of Mental Health issues.
I don’t think there is an easy solution but if everyone could start by at least acknowledging the harm it’s causing then we can have some serious discussions about restricting its use.
Just ban algorithms and dark patterns in it’s UX. It’ll have a much better impact on young people than totally banning social media. Like banning something has always worked in the past… but no, they won’t do that because money talks.
I don’t think a ban would go well in Europe. It doesn’t fit how we think.
But strong regulations that providers need to comply with to offer a specific under-18 experience? That’d be widely accepted, easy.
Whys the government fucking around with stupid shit like this; banning pub garden smoking, not imprisoning women only men, etc. Its like the ministers of the departments are overexcited and desperate to make their marks. Just focus on the core issues. Pour all your energy into that. Nationalise essential infrastruture, build homes like crazy, rejoin EU trade block in someform so we can benefit from trade and protect our regulations from the pull of the US.
Nanny state nonsense from people who have no idea how the internet works or how easy it is to bypass these things. Banning stuff on the internet doesn’t work. If it’s on there, kids know how to get it. Like when they “banned” The Pirate Bay and UK traffic to the site reached historic highs afterwards, lol.
And not a single kid under 16 would think of just lying about their age when signing up for a social media account..?? 🤡
Pandoras box is already open, good fucking luck with that idea.
That means Fortnite/COD is gunna become swamped soon ….
Much as I agree that social media can be an ill to society, I can’t help but wonder how many people it’s helped.
Banning social media under the guise of “mental health” so they can manipulate the next generation with news you would only find out about on the TV. Truth is finally rising to the top and they’re losing control of the narrative and they don’t like it.
This is both good and bad in a way. Like I always think to myself that I got bullied all through school for being ginger. But that bullying stopped at the school gates when I went home and stayed there until I went back to school the next day. With social media, that shit follows you 24/7 and I don’t know how I would have coped.
On the other hand, I work in the Cyber Security side of things, and the idea of people needing to provide proof of identity in order to make social media accounts makes my skin crawl. Where will that info be stored? How secure will it be? Passports for example are golden tickets, you get that leaked and people are in for a world of hurt. How can they guarantee my details are safe with them?
Thirdly, what controls will be in place regarding repercussions for things? At the moment I can say I hate the government because my electric bill keeps going up, screw the government. What stops them from knocking on my door further down the line if they decide to take a stance on all Government bad mouthing? That’s the extreme bad side of the coin, but it does happen in some other countries these days.
It feels like they’ve been pushing for ID to be tied to social media across the board for some time now, and that they’re trying to get a foot in through the door by targeting the youngsters first.
I’m actually in support of this, but realistically, it is impossible to implement unless social media are required by law to identify individuals to create an account, and social media platforms are some of the worst when it comes to selling your data.
The issue in general around internet is that there are very few safe guards for children that are actually enforceable to the point that it becomes effective, it isn’t just social media but the internet in itself can really mess with young people’s mental wellbeing and their is little to be done without extreme measures.
The best safeguarding method would likely sit with parents, but the reality is that not every parent fully understands the technology and what their kid is doing on the internet.
I honestly believe the world wasn’t ready for the internet, don’t get me wrong the internet is absolutely one of humanity’s greatest invention, but we never thought about what could go wrong, look at all the disinformation, the cyber bullying, scams, changing the standard for being social and etc.. we never thought what to do about these things, and now they run rampant, and we have little way of fixing them without extreme measures that could damage our right to information or access of services.
The issue with British government, and it’s not just the current government, is that their solution to the vast majority of issues that we face as a country is to either raise taxes or impose a ban.
People are getting too fat? Introduce a sugar tax. People are smoking too much? Tax it. Social media affecting people’s mental health? Ban it.
British government have no long term solution for anything and they are resistant to deal with the root cause of issues.
Will never happen. Let’s forget about the technical aspects for a moment, they will have defined what constitutes “Social Media” and this is where it will fail.
Framing it as an under-16s ban is spin to get people on board. What it actually means is ID verification for EVERYONE, of all ages, but with under-16s being selectively banned from some platforms. You will have to scan your passport to access YouTube (which is counted as social media under the Aus rules) whether you’re aged 92 or 14.
Might as well ban it entirely at this point. It’s hardly improving society.
How will they enforce it though? There will be workarounds within hours.
Can they stop banning random things such as where we have a ciggie outside or how old you need to be to scroll insta and instead sort the economy out 🙏
The kids will hate it but it will be a win-win for everyone involved, even if the kids don’t agree.
Good. At least they’re attempting to try. Parents need to step in though. They are the root of the issue. I’m fucking gobsmacked how everyone has collectively decided kids can have smart phones and social media and access to porn and other adult things from such a young age. It absolutely infuriates me. No, your 11 year old doesn’t need an iPhone. A simple text and call based phone is adequate and should be the norm for children. Social media is toxic as hell and the other stuff they access is harmful to young minds (and adult minds for that matter).
I think with how uncontrollable and dangerous the Internet is getting, this is a good thing.
I was born before social media became such a monolith. When I was a kid, you talked to your age group naturally so you mentally aged alongside your peers.
The Internet forces an anonymity that you don’t know who you’re talking to and kids don’t know how to regulate their dumb opinions or ideas and can’t handle the pull of the rabbit holes that algorithms create.
Not mentioning how predatory things are becoming and the unregulated of AI and advertising…
It’s not a nanny state thing to say kids shouldn’t drink or smoke, and I don’t think it’s a bad idea for kids to be banned from the Internet.
If you have social media or paid for anything online, you’ve already put yourself out there lol
This would mean everyone having to verify their identifty with just about every website they sign up to.
Unenforceable and a terrible idea. Yes it needs regulating, this is not the way.
Does this government know how to do anything other than tax, regulate and ban?
Can we do this for over 65s too?
Cause with their levels of technical illiteracy and the resulting bizarre trust of the Internet – it’s scary. And they can vote!
Well… who can say? Maybe if it stops them shovelling down shit from creeps like Musk and Tate this might be a good thing.