Should Guernsey follow the UK in bringing in a ban on young people under the age of 16 accessing social media platforms?
That’s a question which has almost managed to eclipse all of the febrile talk about tax reforms since the UK prime minister revealed his far- reaching plans for a ban over in the mainland.
Certainly there are a few places in Guernsey where it has definitely been the hottest topic of conversation – the island’s schools.
I had already got quite a bit of political reaction to the idea. Home Affairs president Deputy Marc Leadbeater seemed quite keen on it. Education president Deputy Paul Montague far less so. But I wanted to find out what those who would be most affected by any local ban made of the idea. So I arranged to talk to seven pupils, representing all three of Guernsey’s high schools, to get their take on the prospect.
To be honest, I was surprised at how much support there was for the concept.
Jane Van Der Watt, from St Sampson’s, said once she had had time to think about it she could really see the positives.
‘Initially I was quite shocked, and I couldn’t see how they would plan the logistics of it. But then afterwards I was thinking that it would be really incredible for younger generations, if they had that growing up, because it would give them a chance to get their childhood back and also experience more connections with friends and family.’
That view seemed to be shared to a greater or lesser extent by most of the young people I spoke to. But not all of them. Bobby-Roy Cole, from Les Varendes, felt a legal ban would represent government interference in family life and would also be hard to enforce.
‘I think people will just find their way around it, just like they have with other rules, so I think it would be a bit stupid, but anyway people have their own ideas so I think parents should be the ones imposing any bans, not the government.’
Les Beaucamps pupil Betty Pearce took a more nuanced view. ‘I definitely think that a complete ban would be amazing, and it would definitely help young people and make them more sociable, but there are benefits to social media as well and it is how people communicate.’
Back at St Sampson’s High, Clive Munemo was very much emphasising the positive side of a possible ban but he also wanted States members to understand how difficult it would be for his generation to adapt to life without social media.
‘I just want to tell them it would be hard, because we grew up with screens and have been entertained by them our whole lives, but I would still agree with the decision because people would communicate more outside instead of staring at a screen and damaging their eyes.’
There were quite a few things that all seven pupils I interviewed agreed with. The first was that any ban would be very hard to police. But despite thinking that many young people would ‘go to extreme lengths to circumvent the restrictions, because they rely so heavily on social media’, Les Beaucamps pupil Poppy Curtis felt there would also be many who would respect the law, and she counted herself among them.
‘If that is what is going to happen from now on, then you just have to accept it,’ she said.
There was general consensus that a ban might well lead to them spending more time on their hobbies in the ‘real world’, but that they would really miss the ability to chat to their friends via social media, particularly those living abroad.
None of them had personal experience of either bullying or finding inappropriate material online. Indeed, most seemed to feel that the use of social media in Guernsey tended to be safer than in the UK and that prompted Tithi Bhagra and Delilah Taylor, from Les Varendes, to propose a compromise solution of an under-13 or under-14 ban for the island.
I suppose the cynic in me wasn’t surprised that a group of 14- and 15-year-olds felt a ban was okay but only for people younger than themselves. However, I did understand the distinction between what is appropriate for genuine ‘children’ and those now starting the transition to adulthood.
All of my interviewees confirmed that the question of whether Guernsey would follow the UK in imposing a social media ban on young people had indeed been a hot topic of conversation in the classrooms and canteens of our local schools.
Betty said that at Les Beaucamps the idea had gone down like a lead balloon.
‘There’s been a lot of talk about it and I think nearly everybody would be devastated if there was to be a complete ban. But maybe that shows that they are too addicted to it and so it needs to be banned,’ she said.
At the end of my interview I asked if the pupils had any messages they wanted to give to States members. Predictably, following the earlier conversation, Bobby-Roy proved to be the most cynical over the prospect of a ban.
‘Just leave it to the parents and don’t put it into the States’ hands because they have bigger problems to sort out in Guernsey than social media,’ he said.
At the other end of the spectrum, perhaps Jane had been the most positive of all of the group of pupils about the idea of a possible social media ban, but she still came up with an inspired idea to test the metal of our elected representatives.
‘I think what would be cool, before they put any bans in place, is to take a group of deputies who are arguing for it and say, “Ok, you are not allowed to use social media for a week or two”, and see how it impacts them. So then they would really get a feel of what it would be like as a young person, especially if they’ve had that account for so long.’
I look forward to suggesting that to our elected representatives at an appropriate time.