Should Under 16s be banned from using smartphones and social media - poll
Most children in the UK have their own smartphone by the time they turn 12.
But almost half of parents aren't happy about it, and say their offspring only need a basic phone - devoid of any social media - to keep safe. As many as 44 per cent of parents say they would support a ban on children under 16 having smartphones, according to Priory Group's new research.
And this week a Tory MP called on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to bring in such legislation. Miriam Cates raised the case of 14-year-old Mia Janin, who is believed to have taken her own life, after claims she was cyber-bullied emerged. An inquest heard that schoolboys allegedly used a group chat to make fun of her on Snapchat.
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Speaking to Mr Sunak at Prime Minister's Questions, Ms Cates said: "The press reported the tragic case of a 14-year-old girl who took her own life following horrific social media bullying, including on TikTok and Snapchat. Since 2010, across the English speaking world, there's been a marked increase in poor teen mental health, teen suicide attempts and children addicted to pornography.
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"The United Kingdom has a strong tradition of legislating to protect children from serious threats to their safety and welfare. So does my Right Honourable Friend agree with me that it's time to consider banning social media and perhaps even smartphones for under 16s?"
The PM responded: "My Honourable Friend is absolutely right to highlight the impact of what happens online on our children and that's why our Online Safety Act tackles both criminal activity online and protects children from harmful or inappropriate content such as bullying, or the promotion of self-harm, accessing pornography and also exposure to eating disorders.
"Ofcom are now rightly developing and consulting on the guidance in the codes and practices for how those platforms will meet their duties. And if they don't clean up their act, then Ofcom will be able to impose fines of up to 10% of global turnover on the social media firms."
Other findings in Priory Group's research found that 92 per cent of parents think that social media/the internet is having a negative impact on the mental health of young people, with cyber-bullying (50 per cent), lowering self-esteem (41 per cent), anxiety over getting enough likes/followers (40 per cent), loss of face-to-face interaction (47 per cent), loss of quality sleep (43 per cent), and its encouragement of early sexualisation (39 per cent) being the main reasons.
What do YOU think? Should Under 16s be banned from using smartphones and social media? Take our poll above and share your views in the comments below
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