The question on a lot of people’s minds at the moment–particularly parents of young children and those campaigning for change–is whether Keir Starmer will follow in Australia’s footsteps and introduce a social media ban for children and teens under 16 in the UK. The ban was implemented on 10 December 2025 in Australia, and ever since there has been a lot of attention focused on working out its efficacy and success rate.
The social media ban for under 16s in Australia currently covers a range of 10 platforms–these include Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube, Reddit and streaming platforms Kick and Twitch. The ban works by having the platforms ask for age verification, which could come from government IDs or face and voice recognition.
Whilst there are several arguments against enacting such a ban, there have been overwhelming pleas from parents and teachers across the UK to make this change happen. As a 21-year-old myself, I have grown up with these social media platforms and understand just how addictive they can be. It is something that I, now as a young adult, am still constantly trying to find a balance with—lowering screen time often seems to be a major priority amongst me and my friends. This is why I am sceptical of the argument that states instead of a total ban, the government should instead teach children how to manage their time on social media and avoid harmful content. If this is something that even adults struggle to implement in their lives, asking this of children doesn’t seem effective or realistic.
Australia’s reasoning for enacting the ban is centred around wanting to prohibit social media from having negative impacts on children and help lower their overall screen time. This is hard to argue against. However, Keir Starmer has stated he wants to wait to find out whether it has been a success in Australia before introducing the same ban in the UK. There have already been reports of children in Australia who say they now feel more free in their day-to-day lives. As time passes, it is undeniable that the pressure is mounting for Starmer to make up his mind.
There have been concerns that children will simply download a VPN which allows them to bypass the internet laws of their local area or that they will make accounts using their parents’ IDs. However, it is important to remember that even though there will inevitably be cases (as there always are) of individuals who manage to get around a ban, perhaps the cultural shift the ban could create is worth it, and needed in today’s world.
Parents have been expressing their concern for years about the detrimental and long-lasting impacts of extensive social media use on their children. Many parents express similar feelings of powerlessness when it comes to controlling what their children see online, as even if they don’t give their children phones, they still see content from friends who use social media platforms. Having a ban in place could help give parents some power back, as they would be supported by government legislation.
It is not only parents that have been calling for a social media ban for under 16s but also teachers. Secondary school teachers in particular have been raising their concerns with regards to attention span; over the years, as social media has become embedded in teenagers’ lives, they have seen attention spans in their pupils worsen significantly. This should be taken seriously—this is the first generation to really experience growing up completely with social media, and the long lasting implications of this are still unknown. Of course, not all teenagers have been impacted by social media in extremely negative ways. However, even if they’re not seeing incredibly harmful content, the general pressures and comparisons that social media imbues upon its users relentlessly should also be considered as potentially harmful for their mental health.
Taking this into consideration, it seems to be not a question of if but when Keir Starmer will follow in Australia’s footsteps and enact the ban.