Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced a nationwide ban on social media use for children under 16, calling it “the right choice” despite acknowledging the platforms’ benefits. Speaking as a parent, Starmer said his priority is children’s happiness and safety: “All I’ve ever wanted for my own children, hand on heart, is for them to be happy and safe. I think that’s what any parent wants.”
He argued that social media is making children unhappy, enabling bullying, harming mental health, and fostering addiction through features that “lock you in for hours.” He added that platforms distract young people from homework, reading, friendships, and healthy sleep.
“That may not sound like much, but these are activities that help a child develop into an adult,” he says. “To be honest, I feel for this generation,” he adds. Thinking back to his own childhood, Starmer says children didn’t have to deal with this type of technology that feeds into daily life. “In this world, with this technology, it is hard as a parent to know what to do”, Starmer says.
“I think most parents will welcome this”, he adds. But he adds the government still believes it must “harness the power of technology to build a stronger, fairer Britain”. The prime minister is now taking questions from journalists in Downing Street, and we’ll bring you a few more lines from his speech in a moment.
Source: BBC
