HOPELESS? –
June 18, 2026 – More interesting are the ideological and sociological reasons why the ban may have unintended negative consequences. There are fears that if young people can’t manage to get on places like Instagram and TikTok, then they will turn to unregulated spaces instead. If a 12-year-old manages to get themselves a social media account and sees content there that is upsetting or otherwise harmful, they may feel that they can’t talk to their parents about it because they’ve been doing something that isn’t allowed. There are those who argue that suddenly allowing young people access to social media at 16 might be overwhelming, with its own associated harms, like going from a dark room to full sunlight. It’s all tied up with wider concerns about how top-down governmental controls over internet access will affect adults too. Handing over power to restrict who sees what content online to governments is a dangerous precedent. Not to mention the legitimate worries about data breaches…
