19/06/2026
This week, the UK announced a ban on social media for under-16s, expected to come into force in spring 2027. We're not here to tell you it's good or bad; it's both, depending on who you ask and who you're thinking about.
It's a real, overdue acknowledgement that something needed to change. But a ban removes the platform, not the design choices that made it harmful in the first place: the infinite scroll, the algorithms, the DMs from strangers, etc.
And for some young people, especially those who find the outside world harder to access, these platforms are their only way to connect with others and express themselves.
Expert opinions on this are mixed - short-term, a ban may cause more disruption than benefit, but longer-term, if it's handled well, it could shift things for the better.