We need to ban social media access for teenagers
We know the terrible toll smartphones and social media take on children and teenagers. We know that screen time makes them inattentive, impulsive and aggressive. We know that it gives them low self-esteem and body-image issues. That it risks exposing them to bullying, violent pornography and sexual exploitation.
Yet we continue to sleepwalk through this strange social experiment. 97 percent of 12-year-olds have a smartphone, and on average they spend 29 hours a week on it. Even though most schools ban phone use during the day, teachers and school leaders still have to deal with the consequences of unlimited access outside the school gates.
A recent survey by the Association of College and School Leaders (ACSL) shows that teachers are reporting increased cyber-bullying, abuse and the malicious use of deepfakes. Almost 1 in 5 primary school teachers are aware of pupils using social media to watch pornography or violent content.
As a teacher, I have seen first-hand how pervasive this toxic cycle of addiction and anxiety is. My colleagues in the primary sector tell me that pupils are behind in social skills, language development and toilet-training not because of the pandemic but because iPads have replaced physical play and face-to-face interaction.
What is even more maddening is how students actually want to be released from the relentless dopamine stimulation of digital life. A Deloitte survey found that 91 percent of Gen-Zs agree that there should be stronger restrictions on children's access to social media. A New York Times report found that almost half of young people wished TikTok and Snapchat had never been invented.
Conversations with my students reveal the sense of relief they feel when they are no longer hyper-aware of what their friends are doing all of the time. Young people want freedom from as well as freedom to.
Despite some gains from the bloated and bureaucratic Online Safety Bill, the Government seems unwilling to properly commit to a digital duty of care. Politicians are too quick to disingenuously claim that the Big Tech genie is out of the bottle. They instead put the onus on schools to educate pupils on how to use these platforms safely and in moderation (which, by the apps' very design, is almost impossible).
Alternatively, they insist that accountability must lie with the platforms themselves. But we know that fining them is as effective as swatting flies. Profiteering will always come before safeguarding.
Grassroots organisations like Smartphone Free Childhood are doing admirable work to try to challenge this new norm, but Manny Bowe, the president of the ASCL, is right: 'enough is enough. As a society, we have the right to demand the protection of our children.' It is time for the Government to intervene, and follow the lead of other countries such as Australia, France and Norway in enforcing age bans for social media. After all, it is only the health and happiness of our children at stake.
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