UK parents support an under-16 social media ban – but what do their children think?

Nine in 10 parents in the UK support an under-16 social media ban, but the feeling among the children it would affect is more mixed. Or at least it is for a group of 10 preteens and teenagers who talked to the Guardian at a location in west London this week. The 12- to 16-year-olds were well versed in the debate, with a set of views ranging from mandatory time limits to tougher controls and a full ban for under-16s. All those options have been under consideration in a government consultation on children’s online safety that is due to deliver an outcome next week, with an under-16 age limit expected for “high-risk” platforms, and restrictions on features such as livestreaming for others. Precisa, 13, is on TikTok and Instagram, but not for the usual reasons: she runs a roll-on deodorant business in her spare time and uses those platforms for marketing. Snapchat is her main app for personal use – largely messaging. Precisa primarily uses TikTok and Instagram to promote her roll-on deodorant business. Photograph: Jill Mead/The Guardian “It will definitely be much, much harder to [run the business] without those apps to help me,” she says. Precisa is also
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