Discussion · Government Orders
Tamara Jansen Conservative
“I worry that banning social media for kids under 16 will not protect them. When teenagers are told they cannot do something, they often just get better at hiding it. A ban might push them to sites that parents cannot watch, which could make them less safe. I want my colleague to tell me if a ban would actually protect kids.”
“Madam Speaker, I have raised five teenagers, and one thing I have learned is that telling a teenager they cannot do something does not necessarily mean they will not do it. Sometimes it means they will get a whole lot better at hiding it. That is what worries me about banning social media for kids under 16. Of course, we want to protect our kids, but we also have to be realistic about how teenagers behave. If they find ways around a ban or end up on platforms that are even harder for parents to monitor, have we made them any safer? I wonder if we could end up making things worse for the kids we are trying to protect. Perhaps my colleague can speak to that.”
Official Hansard
Madam Speaker, I have raised five teenagers, and one thing I have learned is that telling a teenager they cannot do something does not necessarily mean they will not do it. Sometimes it means they will get a whole lot better at hiding it. That is what worries me about banning social media for kids under 16. Of course, we want to protect our kids, but we also have to be realistic about how teenagers behave. If they find ways around a ban or end up on platforms that are even harder for parents to monitor, have we made them any safer? I wonder if we could end up making things worse for the kids we are trying to protect. Perhaps my colleague can speak to that.