SOCIALS AND MOBILES
Reclaiming childhood After months of campaigning, debating and consultation around children's use of smartphones and social media, change is underway... I n addition to making schools smartphone- free zones during the day (already here), new regulations, expected early 2027, are set to ban under-16s from major social media platforms. Everything from TikTok to Instagram will now be out of bounds. And while access to gaming platforms such as Minecraft is allowed, making contact with strangers via in-game chat definitely isn’t. While social media firms are (unsurprisingly) unhappy, the UK isn’t alone in protecting its younger citizens in this way. Australia, for example, introduced a similar ban in December 2025 – and other countries aren’t far behind. In the meantime, though, there are concerns about damage already done: dire warnings of a lost generation, brains permanently rewired and in thrall to social media, and the impact on everything from obesity to language development. The big question that parents and schools are now asking themselves is whether it’s possible to get our children back from the endlessly appealing online
45 CAMBRIDGE EDUCATION GUIDE
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