The Debate of the Social Media Ban

I’m sure most of you are aware of the new social media ban the government is planning to implement next year.

A ban that prevents the usage of apps like Tik Tok, Instagram, Twitter, and even YouTube, on individuals aged sixteen and under, with restrictions and a possible curfew for those between the ages of sixteen-seventeen.

Now, opinions surrounding the ban have been varied, some support it, feeling that social media brews a toxic, and even predatory environment, that children should be excluded from for their own safety.

Others believe that banning social media is too controlling, and even reductive.

As someone who has grown up with social media, practically my entire life, I can empathise with the former argument. Social media has caused me, and many others, to be exposed to things children shouldn’t see, nor have access to in the first place. Often the internet can be a cesspit, concealing all types of horrors.

Though it is great that social media and the internet has the ability provide near endless opportunities, its freedom isn’t always good. The lack of restrictions allow just as many, if not more negative possibilities as it does positive.

Social media has allowed for extensive cyber-bullying to flourish, as people often feel more comfortable being cruel when hidden behind a screen. It has also made grooming easier, due to parents inability to monitor who is interacting with their children.

Even content aimed at children has proved not to be safe. An example of this is the large-scale controversy faced by YouTube, known as ‘Elsagate’. In the late 2010s, a specific genre of videos featured people either dressing up as, or poorly animating popular children’s characters, with Elsa and Spider-Man appearing most frequently in the videos. Though the characters were child-friendly, the subject matter and themes of the videos were not. The content would often depict gore, violence, fetishes and overall harmful imagery, which would traumatise the children watching.

Considering these examples a good argument is provided as to why social media should be banned, or at least regulated for children, however, social media also has its upsides.

One thing that social media provides is community.

With the increasing lack of third places in the UK, children have less places to reside, and interact with others their age when they aren’t at school, causing isolation and loneliness.

Social media not only allows people to contact their friends, but also to make new friends. I have had a few online friends of my own, and it’s definitely a freeing feeling to be able to connect with others who have similar interests to me, even when someone lives in a different city, or country.Though the intention of the ban is to free kids from social media and provide them time to go outside and enjoy themselves, there is also a lack of funding for places for them to enjoy themselves, making the intention redundant.

Social media also allows for digestible forms of education.

Many young people get their news and political information from social media. Whilst this does open the opportunity for misinformation to spread, there are many reliable sources that break down the issues of today, in a way that the current generation is able to understand, as opposed to blocks of text in a newspaper, that a younger person is less likely to come across.

Social media also acts as another aide for school work and exams. During my GCSE’s, I would watch YouTube videos which broke down topics I didn’t understand in my lessons. It allowed me to learn at my own speed, and it was because of this, that I was able to achieve a higher maths grade than I had anticipated.

Like everything, social media has its pros and cons.

Though the cons should not be ignored, it is understandable why the ban is causing such outrage.

Personally, I think that whilst regulation is needed, an outright ban has more cons than pros.

The ban will cause a startling amount of isolation, and isolation has proven to be harmful.

Social media being banned for under thirteen year olds is completely understandable, thirteen to sixteen year olds however? I believe it’s harsh.

I think my access to social media between the ages of thirteen to eighteen has shaped who I am largely for the better. It has informed me politically, connected me socially, helped me educationally and influenced me aesthetically.

The conversation should not be as black and white as banning it, or not banning it.

Most importantly, young people should at least be included in a conversation that is surrounding them, because ultimately, they are who the ban is going to affect the most.

Written by, La’Keesha Stewart