Social media/smartphone bans for under 16’s

Bunkermagnet

Bunkermagnet

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This is obviously a big thing and seeming to be a possible global thing, but is it practical?
Every day I see parents walking their kids in prams/pushchairs and there is no obvious interaction between parent and child as the parent is too engrossed with their phone.
Knowing how my 4/yr old grand daughter likes to draw on her skin copying her mum (who has ink) what real hope is there.
Do as I do not do as I say seems to have been forgotten.
I understand that social media can be good and bad but is a ban for under 16s realistic when we as adults use our phones every day for so much to the detriment of interaction with those immediately around us?
 
Bunkermagnet said:
This is obviously a big thing and seeming to be a possible global thing, but is it practical?
Every day I see parents walking their kids in prams/pushchairs and there is no obvious interaction between parent and child as the parent is too engrossed with their phone.
Knowing how my 4/yr old grand daughter likes to draw on her skin copying her mum (who has ink) what real hope is there.
Do as I do not do as I say seems to have been forgotten.
I understand that social media can be good and bad but is a ban for under 16s realistic when we as adults use our phones every day for so much to the detriment of interaction with those immediately around us?
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Well if the under 16 is bored and demanding attention then maybe the parent will have to pay it more attention and have to put their own phone down, and I don’t see that as a bad thing.
 
SwingsitlikeHogan said:
Well if the under 16 is bored and demanding attention then maybe the parent will have to pay it more attention and have to put their own phone down, and I don’t see that as a bad thing.
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This is a a generalisation but when you see young ones in pushchairs with tablets or looking at phones I don't think it will :(
 
So they go from not having access to social media one day to being able to vote the next?

What does that tell you about the decision makers running the country?
 
First of all, I think phone etiquette across all age groups is poor. Prime example, and it really grinds my gears. We’ll be out with friends and Mrs H will get her phone out mid, round the table conversation, “just checking for messages.” Sorry, you’re in company, leave the damn thing in your bag. If it’s urgent, they’ll ring.

Secondly, if servers were set up to screen out dodgy sites it would go a long way towards keeping the wrong material away from under 16’s. The current suggestion of banning under 16’s penalises them for something they haven’t done. It’s clumsy and ignorant.
 
Peoples life’s are all about social media these days.
Can’t do anything in the real world without posting about it.
You only have to look at how much time some spend on here,add in their other socials,it’s a wonder they find time to spend with their family.
 
Always about control and having devices that you can control when it comes to kids

Also social media sites need to sort themselves out

My daughter has a kids kindle which is limited and locked down and limited screen time

Thankfully she and her friends most of the time prefer to be outside playing or doing Lego or Barbie’s etc etc
 
My 2 year old grandson watches YouTube when at ours on the big telly.
They are fun educational programs and it has really helped his development.
We limit the amount he watches obviously.
It’s also really handy to keep him from getting bored on car rides if it’s just the 2 of us.
Normally I’ll give him my phone and we sing songs together, to be fair it’s better listening than radio 1 now.
 
I think the ban on social media is only part of a larger problem concerning parents and not so much social media.
Although I do think there is a massive problem there.
Roughly 1 in 4 children starting reception school in 2025 were not potty trained.
Some ( one third ) Children starting school, swipe across or tap books thinking they are iPads etc. they do not know what a book is and certainly cannot read.
One could go on. Now how all of a sudden is that down to teachers when the problem existed before they even started school.
A child’s most important years are the first five and in that time they have not learned to go to the toilet or learn to read because of parents.
Put on top of that how many kids do not walk to school when they live in catchment areas, and yes I know some are dropped of on the way to work. Kids are getting lazy
So you have children who have grown up from a very young age looking at a screen, be it a phone or tablet. Being educated by a screen, and with AI it will only get worse. Chuck in social media and there is a ticking bomb that is going off.
Now that could be seen as an over exaggeration, but one of the largest charity’s in our village / area is called “Lashes “
After a girl who committed suicide due to online bullying. I don’t think it is.
The odd thing is that last night I was reading through BBC news about today’s newspapers headline and I came across a piece where grandparents get a massive amount in return through the benefits of cognitive decline. Bottom line kids are good for you so why do parents not see that. And I don’t mean all parents but the ones who stick there kids in front of a screen.
It is not good for there childrens mental health. But what is good for them is exercise.
If there is a positive. Some adults see that. Last night whilst young Bradley was chaperoning a child with ADHD and other illnesses. Young Layla who is 10 was told by the woman who runs the swimming charity she is not sitting on her backside for an hour doing nothing. “ you can get some lengths in, see how many you can do”. She did 64 😳
 
Pin-seeker said:
Peoples life’s are all about social media these days.
Can’t do anything in the real world without posting about it.
You only have to look at how much time some spend on here,add in their other socials,it’s a wonder they find time to spend with their family.
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I don't do Tik-Tok, X, BlueSky. I have an Instagram account but don't post...only follow a few and only occasionally read. Have Facebook account but rarely post and only occasionally read. Other than being in a couple of golf scheduling WhatsApp groups and a bit of reading and posting on Digital Spy this place is pretty much it for me.

Life doesn't have to have SM at the centre of an individual's universe - it's a choice - a choice about what's actually important or relevant to their life (what I use WhatsApp for) and what is just reading and posting stuff for FOMO.

My Mrs will hear my phone ping and won't stop hassling me to look and see why until I do. I'm much more relaxed about having a look...there's nothing I get on SM that needs my IMMEDIATE attention. But that's not good enough for my Mrs. Irritating.

And I find it sad seeing a mum or dad head down on their phone while pushing their small child along and not interacting at all with them. I'm pretty sure that when ours were little and in push chairs we'd chat with them as we went along.
 
I have FB for two reasons, 1) family, and 2) the local FB pages are excellent for knowledge sharing. There is one local FB page for the knuckle draggers, and any issues on the other pages sees a permanent ban.

As for my phone, I very rarely use it, it’s very rarely with me, and it’s currently in the boot of someone’s else’s car.
 
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