Submitted 13 hours ago by BrikoX@lemmy.zip to unitedkingdom@feddit.uk
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/jan/18/labour-mps-starmer-under-16s-social-media-ban
Exclusive: Letter signed by figures on right and left of party says UK should follow Australia’s example by enacting ban
Is it maybe a bit too early to learn the lessons from Australia’s attempt at this? Give it two or three years then do a proper study.
In the meantime why don’t… oh I don’t know… you middle class fucks actually do some parenting of your children? Just a thought.
Can we round it up to under-30s?
How about rounding it up to just everyone on twitter?
Can we round it up to under 60s? Actually, fuck old people (anyone older than me). Let’s just ban it.
Sure, Facebork keeps me in touch with old school friends and my second cousins, etc., but if we have a month’s warning we can exchange actual addresses and then not bother keeping in touch any more that way.
There’s just as much a problem with older people being radicalised by far-right social media, so perhaps look at adding the over 30s too.
So ban everyone from everything. I like it.
Thinking back to my own youth when the problem was teenagers talking on the phone for hours at a time, I wonder why we didn't just force the phone company to ban young people from using telephones.
Raising the age from 13 to 16 isn’t even that big of a change surely?
pirc_lover@feddit.uk 9 hours ago
Shit idea to blanket ban it. Browsing best of Redditor updates way back when, so many posts were kids looking for an outside perspective on their family — e.g. to recognise signs of abuse; to ask advice on coming out; to ask how to buy contraceptives or to have an abortion; how to deal with suicidal thoughts or bullying. Kids (particularly those that are vulnerable) need a safe space to be able to ask those kinds of questions anonymously, and get answers. Trying to ban social media outright in that age category will just lead to unsafe workarounds.
I wonder if we need a body like the bbc for a social media age to produce a platform with the public good rather than profit in mind.
Photo55@mastodon.social 9 hours ago
@pirc_lover @BrikoX
email discussion lists?
A rationing of incoming and outgoing messages?
Local mesh networks?
pirc_lover@feddit.uk 7 hours ago
If I had to suggest something off the top of my head, a mastodon/lemmy/whatever clone that has an instance moderated for age-appropriate interaction for young people, and the option for wider federation with any instance once over — say — 16.