Hundreds of teenagers to trial social media bans as part of government test

Hundreds of teenagers are going to take part in a trial, where they will test different types of social media bans on their devices.

It's part of the government's consultation into children's use of social media and mobile phones.

A consultation is a way for the government to collect different opinions before making big decisions - and these trials will help them with their final decisions.

Over a six week period, 300 young people aged 13 to 17 will try out different restrictions on social media use to see the impact on their schoolwork, sleep and family life.

The trial is being run by the government's Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).

The consultation on a potential Australia-style social media ban is set to end on 26 May.

The trial will involve splitting people into four groups, each with a different set of restrictions.

One set of parents will be shown how to use controls to remove or prevent access to selected social media apps.

Another group will have a daily one hour cap on the most popular social media apps, including TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram.

The third will see parents block social media access for their child between 9pm and 7am, so they are still able to get online for a bit before and after school.

The final group will allow the teenagers the same access to social media as they currently have, for comparison.

The evidence from the trial will inform the government's decision on any policies aiming to improve children's relationship with social media.

In January, the House of Lords voted in favour of banning under-16s from social media, adding pressure on the UK government to match a similar ban to that in Australia.

The consultation has been gathering opinions from young people and adults on how best to keep children safe online across social media, AI chatbots and gaming platforms.

It opened at the beginning of March, has already received nearly 30,000 responses from parents and children, the DSIT said.

It invites views on what age a potential social media ban could begin, and whether social media platforms should be made to switch off addictive features like infinite scrolling and autoplay.

Other European countries such as France, Ireland, Spain and Denmark have said that they are considering their own national age limits for social media.

Technology secretary Liz Kendall said: "We are determined to give young people the childhood they deserve and to prepare them for the future.

"This is why we are listening to parents, children and experts with our consultation, as well as testing different options in the real world.

"These pilots will give us the evidence we need to take the next steps, informed by the experiences of families themselves."