A Derby marketer who gives talks on mental health to young people and their parents says the Government’s plans to ban social media for under-16s “oversimplifies a complex issue”.
Anna Hutton, co-founder of city creative communications firm MacMartin, believes the move, which was announced by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer this week, represents a simplistic policy response rather than tackling the deep-lying issues.
Before setting up MacMartin, based in Agard Street, Anna trained as an occupational therapist and her main area of interest was adolescent mental health.
Now she combines her professional interest in behaviour change and her work promoting communication campaigns through social media by talking to young people about the perils of being online.
She also works with the Derby charity Positive Social, which helps schools and students tackle social media behaviour, smartphone addiction and teaches young people to make good social media choices.
Her work has given her an insight into young people’s feelings about social media and their online behaviour, and it’s this knowledge which has led her to question the effectiveness of the ban – and the manner through which it can be enforced.
She said: “There’s no doubt that social media can expose young people to harmful content, contribute to an “always on” culture, facilitate bullying, and impact mental health and wellbeing.
“And many parents, educators and youth professionals are understandably concerned about the role social media can play in anxiety, self-esteem issues and addictive behaviours.
“However, I question whether a ban is addressing the root causes of these challenges, because there’s a risk that it becomes the simplest policy response, rather than tackling the more complex issue of how platforms are designed and regulated.”
If access to the sites is removed, Anna says, there may be less pressure on social media companies to invest in safer platform design and stronger moderation, and to take greater accountability for the content and interactions online.
It could also cause more challenges for parents concerning enforcement and removal, as well as removing young people’s access to the benefits that also come with social media, and YouTube, which is included in the ban, such as educational content, creative outlets, social connection and access to supportive communities.
She added: “Overall, I welcome the focus on improving young people’s online safety, but I believe there is a risk that a blanket ban oversimplifies a complex issue.
“It’s also notable that WhatsApp has not been included, even though in practice many of the safeguarding concerns experienced by young people, including bullying, peer pressure, group exclusion and the sharing of inappropriate images, often occur within private messaging groups.
“This suggests the issue is broader than simply exposure to harmful content and raises questions about whether the proposed measures are targeting the areas of greatest risk.
“So while from a behaviour change perspective, restriction is one potential intervention, it is not the only one.
“For that reason, we should continue to invest in education, digital resilience, parental support and seek greater accountability from technology companies alongside any restrictions.”
MacMartin is a Derby-based creative communications and behaviour change agency that helps organisations shape behaviour by combining academic insight with creative implementation. Working with clients across the public, private and third sectors, including local authorities, NHS bodies, charities and commercial organisations, MacMartin brings together behavioural science, academic research and creative design to deliver campaigns that drive measurable change.
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