Teachers in England Call for Social Media Ban for Under-16s

In the United Kingdom, the teachers’ union National Education Union (NEU) argues that social media use should be banned until the age of 16 in order to combat increasing misogynistic attitudes and behaviors in schools. Drawing attention to the significant impact of social media algorithms on students’ behavior, the union launched a campaign titled “Big Tech’s Little Victims.”

As part of the campaign, a study examined the content served by algorithms on TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, and Instagram by creating four fictional profiles representing 13-year-old children. The results were striking. Harmful content appeared on average within three minutes of logging in, and users encountered another problematic piece of content every minute while scrolling. According to the findings, 70% of teachers reported frequently observing that students’ behavior, attitudes, or language are influenced by harmful online content. Nearly 90% of the teachers who participated in the study also stated that social media platforms play a major role in exposing students to such material.

Teachers report that sexist language has become more common in schools in recent years, that girls are sometimes targeted, and that the authority of female teachers can be challenged through hostility fueled by online narratives. According to National Education Union General Secretary Daniel Kebede, this situation contributes to the transfer of online misogyny into the school environment. For this reason, a broad coalition of teachers, parents, and health professionals is calling on the government to raise the minimum age for social media access to 16.