Banning them from social media when third spaces for children have been decimated… if you guys thought kids were wayward now, you wait until they’re really bored and actually go outside to an urban environment that often excludes them 😂
I don’t think politicians understand how different life is for teenagers now.
This generation already got hit with lockdowns, missed school years, cancelled exams, isolation, anxiety, and watching their parents struggle through a cost of living crisis. A lot of them lost confidence socially before they’d even had a chance to grow up properly.
Now the answer is to ban them from social media?
I get the concerns. There’s obviously toxic stuff online. But acting like taking social media away suddenly fixes teenage mental health feels completely out of touch.
For loads of teenagers, being online isn’t just “scrolling”. It’s where their friendships are. Their humour. Music. Football clips. Investing education. Group chats. Communities. Even support when home life isn’t great.
Adults created these platforms. Adults made them addictive. As adults we sit on our phones all day too. But somehow teenagers are the problem?
And realistically, loads of kids will get around the ban within a day anyway. Fake birthdays, VPNs, second accounts, it’ll happen instantly. So who actually gets punished? Mostly normal kids who follow rules.
Instead of bans, why not:
Force tech companies to clean up algorithms,
invest properly in mental health support,
teach kids how to use social media safely and help parents understand the online world better.
Teenagers already feel unheard half the time. Policies like this just make it worse.
You can’t keep taking things away from young people and calling it protection.
Give the kids a break! Atleast open some youth clubs or something 🤷🏾♂️