A major new study has launched in the UK that will examine the impact of restricting children’s access to social media as politicians toy with the idea of a complete ban.
The study, which will be co-led by the University of Cambridge’s Prof Amy Orben, will form a key piece of evidence for the government amid a heated debate over whether kids should be prevented from using social media, as seen in Australia, which last year banned the most popular platforms for under-16s.
Described by the University of Cambridge as the “world’s first major scientific trial” looking into the effects of “reducing social media use among adolescents”, the study will take place in Bradford and will involve around 4,000 students across an age range of 12-15.
The trial will see a custom app installed on participants phones that will impose a daily cap on social media use and completely block it at night.
The blocked apps will include TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, X, YouTube, Reddit and even LinkedIn.
As it stands the daily cap will be set one hour per day and social media will be completely blocked from 9pm to 7am.
Researchers will interview the children and collect data via the app to gauge factors including anxiety, sleep quality, time spent with friends and family, general wellbeing, body image, social comparison, school absences and bullying.
“Most scientists agree that we need to do more to keep children safe online and to ensure that the digital platforms they use are designed to support their wellbeing and development,” said Orben.
“What we currently lack is research on what interventions work to do just this. For example, to our knowledge, there has been no high-quality scientific study that has removed or substantially reduced social media use among healthy under-eighteens and systematically examined the consequences.”
The trial will launch in the spring of this year with an initial feasibility study and accompanying report, followed by a full study set to take place in the autumn and winter lasting six weeks.
Calls for an Australia-style under-16 social media ban have been growing in the UK, supported by an unlikely coalition of Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Labour Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham.
There are no plans in place to implement a ban, however, the results of the study will be closely watched by policymakers.
