Banning us from social media is ‘neither practical nor effective’, UK teenagers say

The parliament’s committee of 14- to 19-year-olds examined the links between social media and youth violence. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP/AP

Banning teenagers from social media is neither a “practical nor effective” solution to the growing problem of youth violence, young people from across the UK have told MPs.

Although Australia has implemented a social media ban for under-16s, a better solution would be to strengthen regulation deterring social media companies from promoting violent and age-inappropriate content, the youth select committee of the UK youth parliament concluded in its report examining the links between social media and youth violence.