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More than 60 Labour MPs urge Starmer to back under-16s social media ban (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 17 hours ago by BrikoX@lemmy.zip to c/unitedkingdom@feddit.uk

11 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Exclusive: Letter signed by figures on right and left of party says UK should follow Australia’s example by enacting ban

top 11 comments

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[–] pirc_lover@feddit.uk 4 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago)

Shit idea in my opinion to blanket ban it. Browsing best of Redditor updates way back when, so many posts were kids looking for an outside perspective on their family — e.g. to recognise signs of abuse; to ask advice on coming out; to ask how to buy contraceptives or to have an abortion; how to deal with suicidal thoughts or bullying. Kids (particularly those that are vulnerable) need a safe space to be able to ask those kinds of questions anonymously, and get answers. Trying to ban social media outright in that age category will just lead to unsafe workarounds.

I wonder if we need a body like the bbc for a social media age to produce a platform with the public good rather than profit in mind.

[–] mannycalavera@feddit.uk 7 points 16 hours ago

Is it maybe a bit too early to learn the lessons from Australia's attempt at this? Give it two or three years then do a proper study.

In the meantime why don't... oh I don't know... you middle class fucks actually do some parenting of your children? Just a thought.

[–] Codpiece@feddit.uk 4 points 17 hours ago (3 children)

Can we round it up to under-30s?

[–] not_woody_shaw@lemmy.world 2 points 12 hours ago

How about rounding it up to just everyone on twitter?

[–] Hossenfeffer@feddit.uk 3 points 16 hours ago

Can we round it up to under 60s? Actually, fuck old people (anyone older than me). Let’s just ban it.

Sure, Facebork keeps me in touch with old school friends and my second cousins, etc., but if we have a month’s warning we can exchange actual addresses and then not bother keeping in touch any more that way.

[–] fakeman_pretendname@feddit.uk 1 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

There's just as much a problem with older people being radicalised by far-right social media, so perhaps look at adding the over 30s too.

[–] Codpiece@feddit.uk 3 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

So ban everyone from everything. I like it.

[–] fakeman_pretendname@feddit.uk 2 points 12 hours ago

People would be able to use it for a year between their 30th and 31st birthdays :)

[–] not_woody_shaw@lemmy.world 1 points 12 hours ago

How about rounding it up to just everyone on twitter?

[–] kbal@fedia.io 2 points 16 hours ago

Thinking back to my own youth when the problem was teenagers talking on the phone for hours at a time, I wonder why we didn't just force the phone company to ban young people from using telephones.

[–] Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 1 points 16 hours ago

Raising the age from 13 to 16 isn't even that big of a change surely?