Melksham teens share views on social media ban

Young people in Melksham have shared mixed views on the government’s planned ban on social media for under-16s.

The government has announced plans to prevent children under 16 from using social media platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and YouTube from next spring. The measures are intended to help protect children from harmful content and addictive features online.

Melksham News work experience student Ethan spoke to local young people to find out what they think of the planned ban.

Archie, 14, who uses TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat, said he did not think the ban would affect him much because he did not rely on social media.

He said he had mixed feelings about the proposals and believed social media could expose young people to inappropriate content and bullying.

However, Roxana, aged 15, said she would be affected ‘very badly’. “I have many friends from different countries who I need to speak to. I disagree with the ban. I think they should only set social media limits for under 13s,” she said.

Skye, 15, said she did not agree with the ban and believed it could have an impact on some young people’s mental health.

“I do not agree with the ban because it’s going to cause more problems than social media as everyone will kick off and it’ll cause mental health issues for children whose only source of comfort is on social media.

“Alternatives to the ban could include trying to focus on making certain accounts and pages not suitable for children and only for people 18+ instead of taking the whole app away from the children and having stricter guidelines.”

Ralf, 15, also opposed the ban, saying an alternative would be for parents to be more strict.

The government has also announced plans for a default overnight restriction on social media use for 16 and 17-year-olds between midnight and 6am, although teenagers will be able to switch the setting off. Features designed to keep users scrolling for longer will also be turned off by default.