The UK government launched a consultation on banning youngsters from social media earlier this week and campaigners from the local group said that this was something worth considering locally too.
‘We support that, and think Guernsey should be leading the way,’ said Oliver Westgarth from Smartphone Free Childhood Guernsey.
‘I wholeheartedly think that there should be an age limit. It’s clearly doing a lot of harm.
‘There has been a clear change in direction both nationally and internationally.’
The potential ban, which has now been backed by the House of Lords, would see the UK take a similar approach to Australia where under-16s cannot set up new accounts on major social media services including TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, YouTube and Snapchat. Existing profiles were also deactivated when the ban came into place there last year.
By 261 votes to 150, opposition peers voted to support a ban through an amendment to the government’s schools bill.
Under the amendment, the government would get a year to decide which social media sites should be unavailable to under-16s, with platforms forced to put in place age checks.
Locally, Deputy Sally Rochester has been developing digital safety ideas that would see children under-14 no longer able to have a smartphone, and those under the age of 16 kept off social media. She will also press for all secondary schools to use lockable pouches which can prevent students using phones except in emergencies, as well as more lessons in school on the benefits and harm of technology.
Deputy Rochester hopes the changes would be prompted by a new ‘national strategy for young people’ which she will propose adding to the 2025-29 Government Work Plan by amendment when the States debates it next week.
While a social media ban for under-16s would be a step in the right direction, Mr Westgarth said he did not believe it was enough to protect young people from the harms of technology.
‘It’s so multifaceted. It’s not just the harmful stuff they see on social media, but the amount of time they and we spend on our phones. There is research showing it is screwing up our dopamine regulation,’ he said.
‘The serious danger of social media is that it is a distraction from real life. They are drawn into a false reality and children need to be protected from some of that stuff.’
He said that he believed it was fair for the ban to be for under-16s.
‘We feel 16 is a fair age. It’s the age the western world has given where young people start transforming to an adult and start making some of their own decisions.’
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