Ban social media for under-16s?

Article originally published by Evangelicals Now on 30th January 2026

In the past few weeks, the governments in both the UK and France have taken initial steps towards potentially banning social media for children and teenagers.

Recent updates

Last Tuesday, the French National Assembly voted in favour of a social media ban for under-15s. The bill will now move on to the Senate (France’s upper chamber) for a further vote.

Also in the last month, the UK government launched a consultation on the banning of social media for under-16s, with Science and Technology Secretary Liz Kendall telling parliamentarians: “[We] will bring forward a swift three-month consultation on further measures to keep children safe online.”

These proposals follow in the wake of Australia’s government which, in November, became the first major jurisdiction to implement a sweeping ban on under-16-year-olds accessing social media.

So should there be a national ban on social media for children and teenagers?

What to think?

I can see the arguments in favour. The data set out by psychologists such as Jonathan Haidt appear to show a strong link between the global roll-out of social media and a rapid rise in mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression particularly amongst Gen Z ¹.

Furthermore, I think the increasing political polarisation in Western democracies, and resulting volatile political environment, owes in large part to the social media algorithms that continually feed users content that reinforces and amplifies their own pre-existing views.

However, a sweeping ban on social media for young people would be no panacea. As Australia is discovering, resourceful and motivated teenagers will inevitably find technical routes to circumvent any age checks that the social media sites are forced to implement.

Moreover, issuing a list of banned platforms will probably just encourage the tech companies to launch new sites that are not on the banned list. They may even – as with a number of apps already – add social media functionalities to apps that are not prohibited, such as gaming or messaging platforms. Lawmakers will always be one step behind the tech companies.

Therefore, although I would tentatively view a ban on under-16s accessing social media as a broadly positive intervention, I envisage that it will not have the sorts of radical and far-reaching positive impacts that campaigners desire.

Impact on the church

As churches, families, educators and a wider Christian community, we cannot simply leave this up to legislators.

The social media revolution has impacted almost every area of modern life. To use the popular term coined by writer Marc Prensky, young people are now “digital natives” ². They do not simply use technology for a purpose, such as looking up some photos or checking in with friends. The online world is their home in which they permanently and persistently reside.

Therefore, whether or not there is a national ban on social media, there is a pressing need to train our young people how to live and speak for Jesus in our online world – something I fear we often neglect as a church.

How can we practise self-control in the era of intelligent algorithms that are working to addict us to their platforms?

How can we have contentment and joy when we are constantly bombarded with images of other people’s picture-perfect lives?

How can we build meaningful godly relationships in the disembodied and transactional culture of online communities?

How can we love our enemies and be peacemakers in our algorithm-driven hostile political arena?

These are conversations we must be having at every level of Christian community. From the dining room table to the conference lectern, will we be training our young people to live for Jesus in our online world?

Or like national governments, will we be perpetually one step behind the tech companies in the race for our young people’s minds and hearts?

1. Haidt, J. The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness. (Penguin, 2024).

2. Prensky, M. Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On the Horizon 9, 1–6 (2001).