UK Social Media Ban: Why Tech Rules Alone Won’t Fix Teen Social Media
This week, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a new ban on social media for under-16s, with additional restrictions applied to those under-18s, in an attempt to model closely what has been done in Australia.
Since December 2025, all under-16s in Australia are banned from creating or keeping accounts on age-restricted social media platforms, and parents can’t consent on their behalf. Platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, YouTube, X, Reddit, Threads, Twitch and Kick are included in the ban.
The results so far: around 4.7 million accounts were deactivated, removed or restricted. The ban has been effective at forcing platform compliance however, many under-16s found ways to bypass it, with little to no evidence of reduced cyberbullying or improved mental health as a result.
In the UK, a similar “Australia plus” approach will be taken, including blocking livestreaming, chats with adult strangers, disappearing messages and some AI chatbot functions (such as “romantic companion” chatbots, which simulate sexual relationships). Similar protections are extended automatically to 16- and 17-year-olds in some cases. Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, Facebook, X, WhatsApp and Signal are being treated differently depending on the service type.
Generally speaking, I am in favour of everyone (not just teens) spending less time on social media and phones, but this is far easier said than done and will take more than just a change in the law to improve outcomes. It will involve a complete change of habit to have a true impact.
Speaking from my own perspective, I know for sure that my mental health significantly improved when I permanently deactivated and cut Facebook and Instagram out of my life. It was truly liberating, and I hope this would benefit younger adults in the same way that it benefited me.
But let’s be realistic for a moment. I do not believe that this will have dramatic effects overnight. That simply won’t happen. This is very much a long-term project, and we will likely see the benefits (if there are any) in many years to come. I expect that it will likely take a whole generation to break the cycle, and I hope that by the time my kids are of age to use social media, this will hopefully be a thing of the past – that is, until the next new disruptive technology comes along.
Of course, there will be those who plan to circumvent the rules by using a VPN (Virtual Private Network). Based on initial findings, the Australian social media ban resulted in a 170% jump in VPN usage!
That being said, I feel that the focus of the UK ban shouldn’t just be about putting the right tech in place to police this ban, but rather should be about developing an environment where teens and young people wouldn’t want to spend time on social media. Simple things such as spending time together as a family can work really well.
Overall, I think this ban could be a long-term good, even if enforcing it will be difficult. Its real value, I believe, may lie not just in limiting access, but in helping teens and young people build healthier habits and spend their time more wisely. If less time is spent scrolling infinitely on TikTok and more time is spent on things like studying God’s Word, that could have real, lasting benefits.
