Read a book? Join a club? Stare at a wall? Social media alternatives for under-16s

The sky’s the limit? One expert says the challenge is not to replace social media itself but to replace the things it provides. Photograph: Anna Barclay/Getty Images

When a Lancashire schoolgirl was asked what she would do if the social media ban for under-16s came into effect, her answer hit a national nerve: “Stare at a wall,” she deadpanned. The clip went viral, not least because it distilled a question many parents have been asking themselves about the consequences of the government’s plan.

The answer, says Arran Wilson, of The Wildlife Trusts is not simply to tell children to go outside, read a book or join a club. “It’s not as simple as that,” Wilson says. “We need to think about the world we’ve been raising them in.”