A social media ban cannot be the whole answer when confronting online harm

The Government’s proposal to ban social media for under-16s has reignited a debate that many parents have been having around their own kitchen tables for years.

As a parent, I understand the appeal. If I’m honest, part of me feels relieved.
The consequences of social media platforms’ failure to protect young people have too often fallen on the shoulders of families. Parents are expected to police content, monitor behaviour and navigate technologies that change faster than most of us can keep up with. The prospect of being able to say, “No, you can’t have TikTok or Snapchat because the law says so,” is undoubtedly attractive.

But focusing solely on whether a ban is the right policy response risks missing the bigger issue: what happens next?

Just as I would not hand my children a vape and a bottle of vodka on their eighteenth birthdays, I do not want to send them into the digital world at sixteen without the skills they need to navigate it safely.

When my children were younger, we often read Sleeping Beauty. In the story, the king and queen do everything they can to protect their daughter from harm, even banning spinning wheels across the kingdom. Yet the first time she encounters one, disaster follows. In trying to eliminate risk, they leave her unprepared to recognise it.

The lesson is not that protection is pointless. It is that protection without preparation is incomplete.

A ban gives us a finite window in which to prepare young people for the online environments they will eventually encounter. That means treating media literacy and digital resilience as essential life skills rather than optional extras.

We already teach children about road safety, substance misuse and relationships. We do not assume that keeping them away from roads, alcohol or difficult situations is enough. We teach them how to recognise risks, make decisions and stay safe when they inevitably encounter them.

The online world should be no different.

This has become even more urgent as the distinction between truth and falsehood becomes increasingly difficult to identify. Young people today are growing up in an information environment shaped by algorithms, influencers, AI and increasingly sophisticated forms of misinformation and disinformation. Conspiracy theories that once existed on the fringes can now reach millions within hours.

Through our Commission into Countering Online Conspiracies in Schools, we have heard repeatedly from teachers, parents and young people themselves that distinguishing fact from fiction is becoming harder, not easier. Young people need the tools not only to spot misinformation, but also to understand how information is created, shared, amplified and monetised online.

Schools have a crucial role to play, but they cannot do this alone. Teachers need support, training and resources if they are to help young people navigate an increasingly complex digital landscape. Parents need support too. Most importantly, young people need opportunities to develop judgement, confidence and critical thinking.

There is another vital ingredient. Alongside learning to question what they see online, young people need opportunities to build trust offline. They need spaces where they can develop relationships with peers and trusted adults, explore ideas, make mistakes and learn from experience. Our youth movements and JSocs provide vital spaces for this.

The debate about social media risks becoming polarised between those who favour restrictions and those who oppose them. In reality, we need both protection and preparation.

A social media ban may form part of the answer. But it cannot be the whole answer.

The real measure of success will not be whether young people spend fewer years on social media. It will be whether those years have been used to prepare them for what comes next.

Protecting young people online is not simply about keeping them away from risk. It is about preparing them to face it.

Amy Braier is Director of the Pears Foundation and a Commissioner for the Commission to Counter Online Conspiracies in Schools