Children in the UK should be offered the same protection from voracious social media companies that the Danish government has committed to providing (Denmark plans social media ban for under-15s as PM warns phones ‘stealing childhood’, 7 October) so that we can put a stop to the immense damage they are wreaking.
The crisis they have created is why we launched our campaign calling for exactly that, and we are not alone in wanting action – 70% of the UK public believe that social media companies are robbing children and young people of their childhoods, and want to see the digital age of consent raised from 13 to 16.
From disrupted sleep and shorter attention spans to reduced social skills and exposure to radicalised and extreme views, children and young people are being exploited by big tech executives who are making billions as a result. Parents and teachers see the damage being done on a daily basis. Students are arriving at school exhausted, anxious and already overwhelmed by what they’ve seen on social media. Their ability to focus, connect and feel good about themselves is being eroded before they’ve even had a chance to grow.
Where Denmark is going, the UK must follow. We are calling on our government to raise the age of access to social media to 16, create space on the school curriculum to teach digital literacy, and introduce a windfall tax on social media companies to pay for mental health services that go some way to undoing the damage they have inflicted on children and young people in this country.
Daniel Kebede
General secretary, National Education Union
