Luminym Media's views on the under 16s social media ban

Really?

Yes! Recently, Prime minister Kier Starmer has expressed interest in following Australia in banning social media for those under 16. He claims he is planning on doing this to protect children, but is that really his intention?


What social media platforms will be included?

While there has been no official list of platforms to be banned, we suspect that Starmer is planning to follow Australia's footsteps, and ban most of the major social media platforms, including (but not limited to);
- TikTok
- Instagram
- Twitch
- X
- YouTube
- Reddit
- Snapchat

But surely, this is a good thing? Protect the children!

Yes, while it would have its upside, it also has MAJOR downsides. The government seem to be forgetting that while it can be addictive, social media can also be educational. YouTube has plenty of science related videos and other videos, and so do other platforms! Some children might also lose contact with family or friends. You could make the argument the child could just text using text messages, but what if they don't have a sim? What if they can't afford one? Another BIG issue is right beneath our noses. Think about the timeline for a few seconds; The government first wanted to roll out mandatory Digital ID to all citizens of the UK, but that got shot down quickly by the public. Then, they want 16 year olds to be able to vote in elections, and now, they have made it almost certain they will be banning social media for under 16s. Does this not seem suspicious? People who turn 16 at the next general election will be clueless, as they are taught nothing about politics in school. This seems quite intentional given the rise of Reform UK among younger people. The other big thing is digital ID. To use any form of social media, you will likely have to upload ID or a picture of your face to prove you're of age. In our opinion, the government are doing this as a way to subtly push along digital ID, and not only that, but it also raises MANY more privacy concerns among the British public.

You're forgetting the upsides...

No, I did mention there was upsides, like no cyberbullying, less exposure to dangerous content etc, so, while there IS upsides, in our opinion, these are used to hide the downsides. Think about it; you're a parent and the government has said they will put in place a ban to protect your children. You'd be overjoyed! And that's what they want you to be. What else parents forget is how dangerous the OUTSIDE world is as well. Knife crime is a massive issue, and very little is being done! Not to mention the fact nowhere is safe regardless and things like bullying do exist, and in many cases, can be worse than cyberbullying. Another thing we think quite often is if they were trying to protect the children, why wouldn't they fix the school system? It is broken and it needs urgent fixes!

Well what do we do?

Well, there's not much you can do. There is a government petition to ban social media for under 16s that has over 70K signatures, and another not to ban social media with less than 30k. We suggest you sign that and share it, along with this blog!

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