Sir Keir Starmer has bottled it again. He refuses to follow Australia's lead and ban social media for under-16s. Instead, his government plans to 'issue guidelines' on smartphone use at some unspecified future date. But haven't they already done that? In March, they released 'Screen Time Guidance for Parents of Under-Fives' — advice so weak that no one paid any attention. It told parents of under-twos to 'avoid screen time other than for shared activities that encourage bonding, interaction and conversation.' In other words, give your baby a smartphone, let them stare at the screen, and occasionally lean over and say 'doggie.' For two- to five-year-olds, they suggested: 'Try to keep it to no more than one hour a day.' Try? That is feeble. Adults are not asked to try not to drink and drive. We are not tentatively invited to consider driving at 20mph in a 20mph zone. We are not cordially requested to have a bash at paying income tax.
Starmer and his lily-livered crew are terrified of being judgemental
Meanwhile, Silicon Valley bosses make no bones about keeping their own children off devices and away from social media. Experts warn that plugging children into smartphones causes depression, inability to concentrate, lack of sleep, and interference in neural pathway development. Adults admit to being desperate for a digital detox yet incapable of detaching from their devices. We deplore the addictive algorithms deliberately created to keep us online. We regret the time we waste helplessly doomscrolling. Yet we find ourselves inexorably drawn to repeating this cycle.
If we cannot save ourselves, how can we rescue our children?
Parents and concerned grandparents are crying out for robust government intervention. We know we are ill-equipped to navigate uncharted technical territory. We do not want our young people to become socially isolated weirdos, unable to fit in or form friendships because ours is the only family imposing a social media ban. Yet we are terrified of the dark forces online — violence, misogyny, predatory strangers, deepfakes, pornography, bullying, pressure, competitiveness, and Lord knows what else — threatening our children's wellbeing.
We need urgent preventative action from the Prime Minister. Parents must be told not to pacify children with screens. This is the time for courage, not cowardice. Bite the bullet, Sir Keir, and make handing children devices as unacceptable as giving them a lit cigarette.
