Starmer’s plan to ban under 16’s from social media

You're quite right, it won't work.

The children in Australia have found ways round their ban.

Go after the media companies.

Think he’s targeting the wrong side of the problem.Of course the problems of what young folk see needs dealing with but it’s up to the billionaires who own it to get it sorted .Most young folk need their phones / laptops for schoolwork .
Our almost 7 year old regularly has online work set .

It works to a limited extent but I suppose if it improves things for a few it is worth it in the long run. It makes parents more aware of the dangers at least.

I think you’re right nanna8. It’s not going to work for current teenagers, but if it becomes embedded in parent thinking who now have younger children, longer term it will. I think as so many countries are going down the same route, the regulations internationally on the media and games companies will keep tightening, which can only be a good thing for children’s futures.

Another suggestion was making parents of under 16s responsible for what their children do on their phones . . .
That would mean that all parents have to be as technology literate as their children.

With nanna8 and Casdon

It's a start at least, and if it saves any teenagers lives then is well worth it.
I'd certainly like to see the tech companies controlled more though.

I understand that WhatsApp is not included in the ban. I may be wrong, but I'd have thought that any bullying etc would be likely to be done via that, rather than in more public places such as FB. I don't know many people of that sort of age though, so I'm not well-placed to know.

Probably keeping children off TikTok and the like is probably a good thing, though. The trouble is, areas such as SM evolve all the time, so rules set now will be out of date very soon.

I agree with the Posters who are saying go for the tech companies.

Nanna8 Iwas listening to an Australian spokesperson today saying it definitly isn’t working in Autralia and he was virtually laughing at us trying to follow suit

As they say no use in shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted it’s the tech companies who can help not a ban and 16 is too old anyway I had a grandson out at work between 16/17