A ban on social media for children would be a “simplistic” attempt at a solution to the dangers the platforms pose to youngsters – and risks contributing to a “loneliness pandemic” engulfing their generation.
That is the warning from the Bishop of Blackburn, the Rt. Rev. Philip North, who has issued a call for “safe social media” instead.
It comes as the government launches a public consultation into the possibility of a new law to keep under-16s off the apps altogether.
If the UK ultimately went down that route, it would be following in the footsteps of Australia, which became the first country in the world to introduce a social media ban for the young last year.
Bishop North has penned an article in which he says he understands why it is “tempting” to outlaw the platforms for the youngest minds – but says there may be “unintended consequences”
“The algorithms of the social media companies are irresistibly powerful and draw young people all too easily into a world in which they can be exploited and manipulated.
“A ban seems a simple and easy way to protect a generation whom many believe to be threatened by voracious, greedy corporations who are motivated not by the wellbeing of the young but by the returns they generate for shareholders.
“[But] the last three decades have seen the most extraordinary erosion of opportunities for young people. Adults have imposed upon young people a narrowed down school curriculum with life-giving opportunities such as music, sport, dance and the arts squeezed to the margins.
“Years of austerity have all but wiped out youth work with many of the most deprived communities described in a recent report from the University of Leeds as ‘youth work black holes.’ Protective parents are increasingly unwilling to allow their young people to go out, depriving them of social contacts and experiences.
“Against such a backdrop, surely a key reason that so many young people turn to social media is that it is one of the few ways left to them to engage unsupervised on a regular basis with peers. They scroll on their phones because there is so little else left for them to do.
“A simplistic ban…will surely compound this loneliness pandemic. Why are we punishing the victims for the sins of the perpetrators? Doom-scrolling, online harassment, extremism and many of the iniquities of social media are not the invention of young people.
“Teenagers did not write the algorithms that now hold sway over them. That was done by social media companies whose excesses Government seems frightened of addressing,” Bishop North wrote.
Speaking separately to BBC Radio Lancashire, he added: “If the algorithms of these companies are so intelligent that if I get on a train to Truro, I’m bombarded with advertising for things going on in Cornwall…why can’t we create safe social media in which things like bullying and online abuse and doom-scrolling are not possible, but it’s a safe environment for young people to mix.”
Launching the consultation on possible ban and other ways to protect children on social media, gaming platforms and AI chatbots, Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said: “The path to a good life is a great childhood, one full of love, learning and play. That applies just as much to the online world as it does to the real one.
“We know parents everywhere are grappling with how much screen time their children should have, when they should give them a phone, what they are seeing online, and the impact all of this is having.
“This is why we’re asking children and parents to take part in this landmark consultation on how young people can thrive in an age of rapid technological change.
“Together, we will create a digital world that gives young people the childhood they deserve and prepares them for the future.”
