UK Government announcement regarding delaying the age of social media use

After three years of campaigning to get smartphones out of classrooms and to raise the minimum age for social media, I welcome the UK government’s recent announcements. Requiring schools to be smartphone-free and introducing a minimum age of 16 for social media are important steps forward for children and young people.

These measures deserve to be celebrated, but they are only the beginning. A minimum age alone will not solve the wider challenges posed by the digital environment. Two issues, in particular, need greater attention.

The first is the early years. Nearly 40 per cent of two-year-olds now have their own iPad. As a children’s mental health and digital wellbeing expert, I am increasingly concerned about what this means for developing brains. Excessive screen use in early childhood has been linked to delays in speech and language development, alongside difficulties with social communication and emotional regulation. If we are serious about tackling digital dependency in teenagers, we must start much earlier.

The second issue is EdTech. While the government has recognised that smartphones have no place in the school day, many schools continue to place an iPad or laptop on every desk. Yet decades of research suggest that children often learn more effectively through books, handwriting and paper-based learning. Screens are not neutral tools; they compete for attention and can make sustained concentration more difficult, particularly for children with ADHD.

Countries including Sweden, France and Denmark are already reassessing the role of technology in education and reinvesting in more traditional approaches to learning. We should be prepared to do the same.

The government’s announcement is a significant victory and proof that change is possible. But it is not the finish line. It is the starting point for a much wider conversation about what children need to thrive in a digital age.