Charlie Kirk shortly before his murder… is was soon being streamed by British children (Image: AP)
Teachers across Britain can see the crossroads we are at when it comes to social media. We have a chance to become one of the first nations in Europe to protect our children from Big Tech – but the government’s commitment to a consultation on raising the age of social media access is a slow response to a daily threat to their safety.
We know the tech companies are stealing childhoods. Our members in schools see this every day. Pupils’ identities and attention are being manipulated by social media apps long before their GCSEs are even taken – feeding them extreme viewpoints and explicit content before their brains have had the chance to develop.
If an adult approached a child in the street to show them the sort of videos they are typically exposed to on a daily basis, they would be arrested – instead this content is beamed to them without consequence. This drip feed of dangerous content is eroding the critical skills our children should be developing. Their ability to focus and concentrate in the classroom is harmed by loops of addictive, short-form videos.
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Daniel Kebede, right, with headteacher Damian McBeath and parent Kelly Carolan at Parliament (Image: PA / Matt Alexander)
Their minds are hacked by companies that will do whatever they can to keep them compulsively scrolling in search of the next dopamine hit. Night after night, children spend hours on smartphones, arriving in class exhausted and overstimulated. The social media platforms are designed to keep children hooked – the longer they stay online, the more data they generate, and the more profit is made. It’s their education that pays the price.
Beyond the school gate, the damage continues. Our kids don’t play in the park after school, they go home, and scroll alone. They are losing real-life connections, and the ability to develop interpersonal skills and socialise. A public health crisis is unfolding before our eyes, and parents and teachers need help to stop it.
Australia’s social media ban for under-16s should be a wakeup call for British ministers. Becoming one of the first movers in Europe to restrict social media use for children would not just be pioneering, it would be widely supported.
Polling on behalf of our Big Tech’s Little Victims campaign found more than 70% of Brits are in favour of raising the age of social media access to 16. Even older teenagers express support. They have seen the harm they were exposed to and ask why adults didn’t stop it. The tech companies claim they are helping our children connect with like-minded peers. The reality is they are pushing them into isolation and loneliness, warping their vision of real life. They are robbing them of wellbeing and contributing to a mental health crisis while exacerbating anxiety, depression, cyberbullying, harassment and radicalisation.
Big Tech has shown no interest in protecting children from extreme or harmful content. The power and wealth they gain from ensnaring this vulnerable group of consumers is too great for them to act responsibly. Teachers widely reported in the autumn how pupils had seen Charlie Kirk’s graphic assassination on social media. Our educators are expected to teach children who have witnessed murder on the walk to school. Yet violent or sexually explicit content is only half the battle.
Social media platforms are designed to get children hooked (Image: Getty)
Teachers are reporting soaring misogyny in the classroom, driven by waves of content designed to be ever more extreme to generate attention. These represent thoughtless attempts to manipulate children who are still developing their outlook on the world.
A year ago, inspired by Netflix drama Adolescence, which depicted a boy’s descent into radical hatred and violence via his phone, the country came together in a conversation on the harms of social media. The show revealed that it cannot be down to parents and teachers alone to manage this impact. At the time ministers were vocal about the truths the series took aim at, but their response has been lacking.
An Australia-style ban will propel the UK to the forefront of the movement to curtail exploitative social media companies. A consultation is a step in the right direction but it opens the door to powerful lobbying and risks being kicked into the long grass. It must be laser-focused in providing an immediate pathway to raise the age of social media access to 16, drawing on experiences of those on the front line, teachers and parents. Until we act, children will remain under threat from extreme, manipulative forces in the palms of their hands.
- Daniel Kebede is General Secretary of the National Education Union