A new survey from the British Standards Institution mapping young people’s relationship with social media and digital life reveals that nearly half of young Brits wish they had grown up without the internet.
Of the 1,293 respondents aged 16 to 21, 46% said they would prefer to be young in a world where the internet did not exist. Almost 70% said they felt worse and had lower self-esteem after using social media, with 68% saying their time online had been directly detrimental to their mental health.
A quarter of respondents spent four hours or more a day on social media. Of these, 42% admitted to lying to parents or guardians about their online use. The same number said they had lied about their age online at some point, while 40% used so-called “burner” accounts – hidden or alternative profiles. 27% had even pretended to be a completely different person and the same number had shared their location information with strangers online.
The survey was conducted in the aftermath of coronavirus-related restrictions during the lockdown policy, a period which, according to three-quarters of participants, led to a marked increase in screen time.
Experts don’t believe in “digital curfew”
Against this backdrop, the UK’s technology minister, Peter Kyle, has recently opened the door to introducing mandatory digital “curfews” – i.e. blocking certain apps, such as TikTok and Instagram, after a certain time in the evening. Although critics have dismissed the proposal as repressive, it is gaining some support among young people: half of those surveyed, 50%, said they would support a digital curfew after 22:00.
However, several experts, including Rani Govender, policy manager for children’s online safety at the NSPCC, say the proposed restrictions are not enough.
– We need to make clear that a digital curfew alone is not going to protect children from the risks they face online. They will be able to see all these risks at other points of the day and they will still have the same impact
She added that the focus should instead be on making the online environment safer and less addictive for children and young people, and preventing them from visiting obviously harmful sites and apps.
“Rabbit holes of harmful material”
Andy Burrows, CEO of the Molly Rose Foundation, also highlights the need for legislation to protect young people from harmful content:
– It’s clear that young people are aware of the risks online and, what’s more, they want action from tech companies to protect them.
He points out that algorithms often display content that can quickly lead young people into destructive flows and spirals:
– Algorithms can quickly spiral and take young people down rabbit holes of harmful and distressing material through no fault of their own.
Burrows calls for new laws to force a “safe by design” approach that puts the needs of children and society ahead of corporate profits.