Parents, guardians, and young people in Llanelli are being urged by local MP, Dame Nia Griffith to shape the country’s next steps on children’s digital wellbeing, as the UK Government opens a consultation to gather insights from the public on how to keep children safe online across social media, AI chatbots and gaming platforms.
Its sheer scale is world-leading, looking at expansive options not considered by other countries. This includes considering how measures like curfews could help 16-17 year olds with their wellbeing.
Dame Nia said:
“Keeping children and young people safe online in a digital world that did not exist a generation ago is one of the major challenges we face. We must do all we can to help give children the childhood they deserve and prepare them for the future.
Parents across Llanelli worry about what social media is doing to their children’s sleep, concentration and mental health. They are grappling with how much screen time their children should have, when they should give them a phone, what they are seeing online, and the impact all of this is having. They worry about AI, and about their children talking to chatbots as if they’re real people.
I very much want to see us do much more to protect under-16s from social media, with its very powerful algorithms and increasingly disturbing content, and I would certainly support a ban on under-16s using social media. But, like any legislation, it needs to be carefully thought through, and enforceable.
The UK Labour Government is determined to act, and I want people in Llanelli to help shape what that looks like. This is why I’m asking children and parents to take part in this important consultation on how young people can thrive in an age of rapid technological change.”
The consultation will explore some of the most talked-about potential changes, including:
- Whether there should be a minimum age for social media, and if so, what age would be right
- Whether platforms should be required to switch off addictive features that keep children hooked late into the night – like infinite scrolling and autoplay
- Whether mandatory overnight curfews would help children sleep better and what age they should apply to
- Whether children should be able to use AI chatbots without restriction
- How age verification enforcement should be strengthened
- What areas of digital literacy parents and children need extra help with
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said:
“The path to a good life is a great childhood, one full of love, learning and play. That applies just as much to the online world as it does to the real one.
“We know parents everywhere are grappling with how much screen time their children should have, when they should give them a phone, what they are seeing online, and the impact all of this is having.
“This is why we’re asking children and parents to take part in this landmark consultation on how young people can thrive in an age of rapid technological change.”
The three-month consultation is open to everyone with a view: parents, carers, young people, those who work with children, civil society organisations, academics, and industry. Dedicated versions have been developed for young people and for parents and carers, making it easier for them to share their experiences and views. These sit alongside the main consultation at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/growing-up-in-the-online-world-a-national-consultation
The consultation will close on 26 May. Rather than focusing on technical questions about policy mechanisms, it will ask questions about possible solutions and how they work. As well as how we equip children and young people with the skills and confidence to thrive online and what support parents and families would benefit from in navigating their children’s digital wellbeing.
The Government will respond in the summer, acting swiftly on the evidence gathered.