Mims Davies MP contacts Secretary of State on Social Media Ban for Under 16
The topic of banning social media for individuals under 16 years of age has been one that has been discussed far and wide among politicians, mental health experts, young individuals themselves, parents, teachers and more.
Mims's previous statement on the topic can be found here:
https://www.mimsdavies.org.uk/news/mims-davies-mp-statement-social-media-ban-under-16s
Following these discussions, a public consultation was launched on whether to ban social media use for children under 16 which Mims has taken part in sharing views and concerns that residents have also shared with her. This response can be found below.
This consultation aims to gather views on a range of proposals to improve children's wellbeing online, including the possibility of an outright ban. The consultation was open to young people, parents, and guardians and closed today.
The consultation was part of a broader effort to address the growing concerns about children's online safety and the impact of digital technology on their health and wellbeing.
Mims Davies MP said:
I know from speaking with parents, students, and teachers alone how important this topic is and how much it comes up in conversations.
This is why I have written to the Secretary of State on behalf of my constituents in EGU to support a ban on smartphones in schools and raise the minimum age for social media access to 16.
I am very grateful to the hundreds of parents and many more who have taken the time to write sharing their experiences with me.
As a parent myself who, like so many, has tried to take individual action to try to limit internet access and screen time for their children, I know how fraught and challenging this can be for families - under 16s are children.
As a Conservative, this is not a natural position to find myself in, but I feel very strongly we can no longer go on wondering how we deal with the consequences of this experiment – the overexposure to porn, violence, radicalisation, knife crime, sextortion, bullying, eating disorder sites, and all the other ugly things our kids are seeing or being encouraged to do when they are simply too young to filter out, mitigate risk or even understand this content.
