Hundreds of teenagers in the United Kingdom are to take part in a trial to find out how a ban or restrictions on social media would affect them. The six-week pilot trial will see 300 people aged 13 to 17 try out different restrictions – from time limits to curfews to an allout ban.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology will measure the effects the restriction has on their schoolwork, sleep and family life. The measure comes as the government’s consultation on a potential Australia-style social media ban is set to conclude on May 26.
According to programmes of the trial, parents will be split into four groups and told how to implement social media limits on their children’s phones. One set of parents will be given instruction on how to use controls to remove or prevent access to selected social media apps, mirroring the effects of a social media ban.
Another group will have a one-hour-per-day limit on the most popular social media apps, including TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram. A third group will have social media access blocked between 9pm and 7am, and the final group will give teenagers the same access to social media as they have currently.
Families taking part will be interviewed at the start and the end of the trial to see how the ban or limits imposed impacted them and any difficulties they faced. Speaking in the programme, Technology Secretary, Liz Kendall said “we are determined to give young people the childhood they deserve and to prepare them for the future.
