"Everyone's really upset mum - loads of them have got their own YouTube channels." That was the reaction of Zoe Kleinman's 12-year-old son when the BBC technology editor broke the news of the government's planned social media ban for under-16s in his classroom. The fact that 12-year-olds have channels on a platform with a minimum age of 13 underscores the scale of the cultural shift the government is attempting.
The exact logistics of the ban have yet to be set out, but its introduction next spring could herald the biggest change in how everyone, children and adults alike, accesses the internet. Millions may have to share official ID including their date of birth to use a range of platforms. The ban has been broadly welcomed by campaigners, including bereaved parents who say their children died as a result of social media harms.
“UK plans to ban under-16s from social media, requiring ID checks from next spring, sparking debate over effectiveness.”
But for others, the plan goes beyond getting children off screens - even if that means, as Preston school pupil Isabella deadpanned on camera, "stare at the wall" when asked what she would do with her nine hours of weekend screentime. It amounts to a profound reshaping of how young people accumulate knowledge and how the rest of us move online.
"YouTube is where we all go to learn," said Dr Tom Crawford, known as Tom Rocks Maths, who shares maths skills with his 250,000 subscribers on the platform. "And that includes teenagers." The ban includes YouTube.
Concerns have been raised about civil liberties and government overreach, but there are also more prosaic unintended consequences. "Every young person I have spoken to has told me the same thing: they will find a way around it," said Paddy Crump, campaigns director at Flippgen, a youth-led non-profit that helps young people build healthier online relationships. That is what appears to have happened in Australia, where seven out of 10 children under 16 who had a social media account before its ban in December 2025 still have some access, according to a report by the country's e-safety commission.
Crump argues the measures offer "false hope dressed up as protection" and will simply shift young people's online behaviour elsewhere. The question remains: are we witnessing a profound shift in the online space, and if so, how will it reshape our relationship with it?