Ban Social Media for Under-16s, Miriam Cates Tells MPs

MP Miriam Cates has compared the digital world to a “Wild West” of violence and abuse that children should be protected from, calling for legislation to ban social media for under-16s. The Conservative MP for Penistone and Stockbridge told a Westminster Hall debate on Tuesday that the government should also “urgently” fund phone lockers for schools so that children can have a distraction-free space for learning. Ms. Cates put forward the debate after campaigners and polls of parents have called for tighter restrictions on children accessing devices and social media. During her opening remarks, the MP cited the work of American psychologist Professor Jonathan Haidt who has drawn connections between the rise in suicides, anxiety, and feelings of despair among young people and the ubiquity of social media and mobile phone use....