Every so often, a headline lands that feels less like news and more like a collective intake of breath. Recently, it’s been the idea of banning under-16s from social media. Australia has acted. Spain is talking seriously about it. The UK is 'consulting', which is political code for we know this is complicated but we need to be seen to do something . If you’re a parent, carer, or anyone who has ever watched a teenager scroll at lightning speed while claiming they’re “not really doing anything”, this probably sparked a mix of relief, confusion, agreement, and dread. Relief because something might finally change. Dread because banning something rarely makes it disappear. Twelve years ago, and in partnership with Jump! Mag, I made a lot of noise about the access that children had to social media. Parents reported that were already anxious about safety, peer pressure, screen time, and digital footprints that felt permanent before kids even understood what permanent meant howev...
... blogging my guts out