Children under the age of 14 in Florida will be banned from using social media from next year, and we asked Mirror readers if the same legislation should be introduced in the UK
The governor of Florida has signed a bill prohibiting children under the age of 14 from accessing social media, so we asked Mirror readers what they thought of the news.
Once the HB3 law takes effect, those aged 14 and 15 must obtain consent from a parent before joining an online platform, such as Instagram or Facebook. Governor Ron DeSantis signed the bill last week, as he said: “Social media harms children in a variety of ways,” and the measure “gives parents a greater ability to protect their children.”
Under the legislation, social media companies will be forced to remove existing accounts for those who are under 14, or face being sued on behalf of the child who has made the account. According to reports, a minor could be handed up to $10,000 (£7,908) in damages, while companies could also be fined up to $50,000 (£39,538) per violation of the law.
Republican speaker Paul Renner said: “A child in their brain development doesn’t have the ability to know that they’re being sucked into these addictive technologies.” The bill has warned that social media promotes harmful material to minors which is “lacking serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value”, and contains “patently offensive” sexual messages and indecency.
It is expected to come into force in January 2025, but will contend with challenges by firms who claim the bill violates the US constitution. The mother of murdered teen Brianna Ghey has also called for children under 16 to be banned from social media and have smartphones with no access to networking apps.
Esther wants teenagers to be given phones that are “suitable” for them and linked to their parents’ phone to flag suspicious activity. Her plea comes after it was revealed one of 16-year-old Brianna’s killers, Scarlett Jenkinson, also 16, was fixated with the dark web, which she accessed on her phone, and claimed to have viewed live murder and torture streams.
Research by the Priory Group has shown that 92 percent of UK parents think that social media and the internet is having a negative impact on the mental health of young people. The main reasons highlighted in the findings were cyber-bullying (50%), lowering self-esteem (41%), anxiety over getting enough likes/followers (40%), loss of face-to-face interaction (47%), loss of quality sleep (43%), and its encouragement of early sexualisation (39%).
We asked Mirror readers if they think under 14s should be banned from social media and a whopping 96 percent said ‘Yes’. Around 995 people took part in our poll, and a staggering 955 said that minors should be prohibited from the online platforms. Voicing their thoughts in the comments section, one reader penned: “Finally, maybe common sense will prevail. Even the Americans are seeing social media as an unhealthy if not dangerous place.”
Another shared: “Probably anyone under 14 (and many over that age too) do not have the emotional capacity or awareness of danger to cope adequately with social media and all it’s pitfalls. But how it could be enforced is a mystery.”
A third wrote: “My daughter never had Facebook till she was 14 , even then myself and her Dad monitored what she did etc. At night I had an app that cut off any internet and her phone was given to me at a certain time.”
While a fourth added: “Agree! Until they are in college they should have no social media. Children in school should focus on school assignments, reading, school participation, good performance & excellent grades . There should be no distractions. When they are at home on free time, they should help out their parents with house chores, Etc. Discipline is the only way to be responsible adults.”
Meanwhile, only three percent selected the option ‘No’ in our poll, as some suggested it would be difficult to regulate a new legislation. One reader commented: “There’s no point in bringing in a law that’s impossible to police. First and foremost, it’s a parents responsibility to care for the wellbeing of their child. That includes making the choice of whether social media is having a negative effect.”
Another shared: “In any case they need to be monitored and their content greatly reduced. You can’t ban them. It’ll never work. You can reduce the harm it causes.”
A third added: “They’re not allowed to smoke until they’re 16 or to drink until they’re 18. That doesn’t stop the ones who want to do those things, so how would you prevent them using social media? Where are the parents in all this? Why don’t they have any responsibility for what their children are doing?”
“I think it gets to the point where it is impossible to police and to be fair it is our job as parents to control – as best as we can – what our kids have access to. My daughter (nearly 13) knows I go through her phone and tablet. I use Family Link – she cannot delete her history and I can turn any of her devices off from my phone. She also knows this will continue until she is 16,” shared another.
Around one percent selected the option ‘Other’ in our poll.
Please note that the poll is still live, so these results may change after the article has been published.
You can still vote in the poll HERE to have your say on the topic. Do you think under 14s should be banned from social media? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
