Banning kids from social media is the same vein as putting a curfew in for women when there’s a male attacker out there. It’s easier to legislate the victim than fix the problem
I think this is the crux of why I feel so annoyed by the ban. Young people finding their communities, belonging, and support online is an actual lifeline, but this is so easy for the govt to dismiss when the needs of these groups who most benefit are largely ignored or vilified in society anyway.
Population policies like bans can have side harms even if they do well for the primary outcome. But there’s not even evidence for social media bans improving kids’ mental health, let alone all their likely disbenefits of privacy infringement & social isolation.
www.frontiersin.org/news/2026/05...
This is nuts. Yes we need better protections online, but this is a massive overreach by Starmer. For many young people, especially marginalised ones such as trans and neurodivergent, online spaces can be a safe place for them to develop a genuine support community
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
