The government’s consultation about whether to ban social media for under-16s responds to widespread concern about digital harm (UK ministers launch consultation about whether to ban social media for under-16s, January 19). We in the Neuroscience, Ethics and Society (NeuroSec) team at the University of Oxford argue that such inquiry should also extend to whether young people should have access to generative AI. In the case of social media, ministers and commentators have focused on features such as addictive feeds and age limits; Our research team’s work with young people shows that in the age of AI-driven technologies we should consider these kinds of ideas, along with many others.
Sure, concerns about mental health, social comparison, and addictive design certainly apply when thinking about young people’s online experiences, but the digital world of 2026 involves much more than Instagram and TikTok. AI-based chatbots are increasingly present in the lives of young people in many areas, from education to companionship. And adolescence is a formative stage for developing social understanding, sense of one’s identity, etc. This raises immediate questions, such as: At what age should youth have access to AI that simulates friendship or intimacy? What safeguards are needed to protect young minds from manipulation and dependency based on artificial “connections”?
Any policy focused on protecting children must expand its scope beyond traditional social media platforms to include all relevant technologies that impact young people’s development. Consultations should invite evidence from developmental psychology and AI ethics, and the perspectives of young people themselves. Simply asking whether a platform should be off-limits misses a deeper question: What kind of relationships do we want to have with technology for future generations, and at what age is it appropriate to start having them? Young people deserve thoughtful, forward-looking policy, not just reactionary reforms.
Dr. Madeline G. Reineke
NeuroSec, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford
Banning social media for children under 16 is the minimum step our government should take for children in the UK. Since my career as a teacher began in 2010, I have watched the mental health crisis unfold, while those in power have shown a worrying lack of urgency in dealing with the security risks posed by social media. Politicians, parents and teachers have to help children find and maintain real, deep connections in an analog world. This doesn’t mean turning off all technology; This means regulating access to addictive and dangerous platforms at the peak of adolescent neuroplasticity and vulnerability.
The answers are not new – sports, music, youth club rejuvenation, simple role-modelling – but those in power need to take bold action to prevent the harms of social media for the next generation.
alexandra coxworth
Deputy head, Lord Wandsworth College, hampshire
Recent articles on the growing demand for restrictions or more restrictions on social media correctly highlight that we are at a tipping point in this debate. In 2015, the Youth Sports Trust published the first of a trilogy of reports warning of a generation being held hostage by handheld devices. They are connected 24/7, but more alone than ever. our recent Class of 2035 Report Warned that without change the situation will continue to deteriorate. In a decade’s time, if the current trajectory continues, half of children will use screens for entertainment purposes alone at least three hours a day. The need to reimagine childhood is clearer than ever – and the time for change is now.
Ali Oliver
CEO, Youth Sports Trust
