Kids are turning up at school unable to learn because of late-night scrolling, MPs have warned.
They say that the use of social media makes them distracted as they argue for a ban for children under 16.
A cross-party committee has called for more regulation because tech companies cannot be relied upon to self-regulate.
An ongoing consultation is due to close next week, looking at a range of measures including age restrictions and curfews.
There are widespread calls for an Australian-style ban on children’s social media use. However, questions remain over how effective this has been.
The Education Committee wants to restrict harmful features and functionalities to protect those who manage to get around restrictions.
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Teachers have said they have spent ‘significant’ time managing issues because of phones, social media disputes and consequences of online behaviour.
As a result, relationships between staff and pupils have been affected by ‘constant enforcement of rules and mediation of incidents’, which can detract from children’s actual education.
Parent pact
The Smartphone Free Childhood is a movement that calls for parents to take responsibility.
They want them to sign up to a pact whereby they don’t give their child a smartphone until they are at least 14 and social media at 16.
They cite stats including:
- The average teen spends 35 hours a week on a smartphone
- Children spend 65% less time with friends since the launch of the iPhone
- Children spend 30% less time outside compared to 1975
- Screen-based activities have risen 23% in the same time
- 90% of girls and 50% of boys have been sent unsolicited explicit content
- 51% of 11-13-year-olds have seen pornography unintentionally
- 75% of 15-year-olds have been sent beheading videos
Chair of the committee, Helen Hayes, said: ‘From bullying and misogyny to abuse and sexual exploitation, children and young people growing up today face a deluge of serious harms whenever they log on to social media.
‘The same platforms that connect them to their friends or introduce them to new hobbies are putting their mental health and wellbeing at risk.
‘In the most extreme cases, inaction can have truly horrific consequences.’
The committee highlighted evidence from Esther Ghey, the mother of murdered teenager Brianna Ghey, and Andy Burrows, chief executive of the Molly Rose Foundation – set up in memory of 14-year-old Molly Russell who took her own life in 2017. He told MPs about the ‘devastating and tragic consequences that online harms can have in the most extreme cases’.
They found that the harms happened due to features designed into apps like infinite scrolling, autoplay and private messaging features.
‘High-risk and addictive’ features like these should have mandatory restrictions for under-18s, MPs said.
They also concluded social media companies ‘cannot be left to self-regulate’ and that the Government must treat online harms to children as a safeguarding and public health issue.
MPs expressed ‘serious concerns’ over social media companies not demonstrating enough accountability for the harms children experience on their platforms, noting evidence from representatives often framed harm as ‘an inevitable feature of a fast-moving digital environment’ as opposed to a consequence of design choices and failures in monitoring risks and acting on them.
They urged the Government to impose enforceable duties on platforms to prioritise child safety, which should have ‘meaningful sanctions’ for non-compliance.
The committee found that children, parents, carers, and schools have ‘too much responsibility’ in managing online harms and that the Government must rebalance obligations towards social media and technology companies.
On mobile phones in the classroom, MPs expressed support over the Government’s decision to make the guidance on phone bans in schools statutory, but said schools should not be able to adopt the ‘not seen or heard’ policy as it does not completely prevent children from using them.
Schools should be able to either adopt a phone-free policy or have students lock away their devices in pouches or lockers, and they should be funded to carry out the latter option.
There should be exemptions, including for children who need smartphones for assistive technology or those who are young carers.
The report also found existing advice and resources for parents and carers are not clear, recommending the Government release national guidance – designed with parents, carers and teachers – which should set out age-appropriate principles for children’s screen use.
Last month, Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said proposals to restrict social media for under-16s would be put forward by the summer – with plans to legislate before the end of the year.
Peers have voted multiple times to press the Commons into accepting a social media ban.