Featured Image Credit: Xavier Lorenzo / Getty
The UK government's consultation into a potential social media ban for under 16-year-olds has produced a frightening report from the nation's top doctors, as they outline the negative health impact of using these platforms, likening it to a group 1 carcinogenic.
There has been a rise in internet-based restrictions across the world in the last few years, with many major countries implementing verification systems that block certain websites if you're not over the age of 18.
This has primarily affected websites hosting adult content, with platforms like Pornhub becoming a particular target for these bans, yet it could extend further into wider social media restrictions for young people.
Australia was one of the first nations to fully implement an age-based social media ban – resulting in outrage and chaos from the younger generations – and the United Kingdom could soon follow suit if a new scientific report is anything to go by.
Advert
As reported by the Independent, the report was provided by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges as part of an ongoing consultation into the viability of a ban, and within it doctors have warned about the frightening impact of social media on the health of younger people.
It outlines the widespread understanding that doctors are witnessing a "wave of radicalized children" who are consistently exposed to "hateful, addictive, and grossly distressing content."
This amounts to content involving 'extreme pornography', violence, and radicalization, with a survey of 454 doctors indicating that around half who responded treated at least one child a week suffering from mental distress or physical injury related to social media activity.
It's expected that this report will play a key role in the government's decision at the end of the consultation period, with former Health Secretary Wes Streeting suggesting a potential direction of travel with his recent comments.
"It's extremely addictive," Streeting said in reference to social media. He added that it's "bad for our health, and Big Tech is borrowing the Big Tobacco playbook to avoid regulation.
"We've got to give our children their childhood back," the former minister continued. "A ban for under-16s must be the start, not the end. We have given the pen to tech moguls to write our future for us. It's time to take the pen back."
It certainly outlines the potential danger for young people when it comes to social media use, and has been supported by additional studies which reveal quite how quickly people can become addicted to apps like TikTok.
