Letter: Why as a head teacher I support the teen social media ban

I know that I am about to make myself very unpopular with many of my students, but I write to explain my support for an Australian-style ban on social media for under-16s.

Jonathan Haidt is currently in the UK speaking to the media and politicians.

His research, explored brilliantly in The Anxious Generation, links the sharp rise in adolescent anxiety, depression and self-harm to the spread of smartphones, reversible cameras and social media.

He argues that under-16s are neurologically more vulnerable to social comparison, seeking validation through likes and comments, and online rejection, exclusion and humiliation.

We see the impact in schools every day.

Social media use among under-16s is linked with sleep deprivation, reduced attention span and consequently lower academic engagement.

Social media transforms normal teenage dynamics into constant, public and inescapable performance.

For young people, this means: 24/7 peer judgment, amplified bullying and exclusion, and difficulty switching off from social stress.

I am so glad that I was a teenager in the 1980s.

Adolescence is hard enough without the impacts of social media.

Now is the time to restore childhood space and time for development.

Unregulated digital space escalates anxiety, spreads misinformation, and damages relationships for us all.

The same principle applies even more strongly to adolescents.

A ban will help rebalance childhood towards face-to-face interaction, physical activity, creativity and unstructured time.

Let children be children and let them be bored from time to time.

Haidt emphasises that these platforms are intentionally designed to be addictive, exploiting immature self-regulation systems.

An age restriction recognises that expecting children to self-regulate against billion-dollar algorithms is unrealistic and unfair.

An age-based ban reflects the principle that children should not be exposed to high-risk environments before they are developmentally ready, just as we regulate alcohol, driving and gambling.

Our aim should not be to deny young people technology, but to protect childhood, support healthy development and ensure that when students do engage with social media later on, they are better equipped to do so safely, confidently and responsibly.

Whilst I may now be unpopular with many, I also think there will be many more of my students who feel freed up by the lack of access to social media distractions and digital dangers.

Paul Taylor,

Principal, Westholme School