'I Can't Stop Using it' - Under-16s Have Their Say on Possible Social Media Ban

Isaac, 13, hopes he and his friends won't be banned from using social media

Isaac loves watching football clips. Like many 13-year-old boys, he also loves superheroes and gaming. TikTok provides an endless supply of videos on all three.

"If I'm being completely honest, I'd say I watch four hours a day." At weekends it could be even longer. "When I have nothing to do, that's all I do."

But even at his tender age he's come across videos that make him sad, angry or worried. If he was prime minister, he'd make sure children like him were not served videos like these.

Isaac was one of 33 pupils from the north-west of England, all aged 12-18, who took part in the BBC News debate on social media.

They gathered at the Bolton Lads & Girls Club on Wednesday afternoon to share their opinions on whether social media should be restricted, or even banned altogether, for under-16s in the UK.

Iga, 14, has seen some videos on her social feeds where people openly talk about their suicidal thoughts and other serious mental health problems.

"The problem is that you can see more than you should," she says. "You will see stuff that you might not want to see and that can impact your own mental health."

She understands that today's society is more open when it comes to discussing their problems but worries that children younger than her might ape some of the language and behaviour they see online, causing harm to themselves.

"I love that people want to talk about their mental health but that is not the way to approach it at all, personally speaking," she says.

Earlier on Wednesday, MPs in Westminster voted to reject a social media ban for under-16s for the third time.

The UK government is currently undertaking a public consultation on the matter as part of their efforts to better protect children from harmful content online - including violence, misogyny, suicide and eating disorders.

Education minister Olivia Bailey said the question was not whether the government acts but how, saying the consultation went further than the amendments voted on which would have restricted social media access for under-16s.

But shadow education secretary Laura Trott said the government must protect children from extreme and violent content and parents will "not forgive the continued delay".

The government also committed earlier this week to a statutory ban for phones in schools.

- Author: George Sandeman, BBC

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