Several hundred teenagers in the UK, along with their parents, will be put to the test to see how implementing a social media ban may affect their daily lives.

The UK is conducting an experiment to see how a social media ban would affect users under 16, with 300 teenagers taking part.

The test will take place over six weeks in the four nations of the UK to see how different restrictions could affect teenagers.

Participants, or rather their parents, will be assigned to four different groups.

One set of parents will be assigned to test parental controls that “remove or entirely disable access to selected social media apps,” essentially testing what the original ban idea would look like in practice.

The second group of parents will allow their kids to use the most popular social media apps, such as TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram, for only one hour per day.

This group of parents will be asked to set time limits for their kids, blocking access to social media from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. This would allow kids to use apps only before and after school.

The fourth group of parents won’t have any restrictions on their kids, allowing them to use social media as usual.

Parents and kids will be interviewed at the beginning and end of the experiment to assess how they were affected by these changes.

“[...] We are listening to parents, children, and experts with our consultation, as well as testing different options in the real world,” said Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology Liz Kendall.

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

The idea behind this experiment is to see how this incentive would affect kids and parents, their family life and schoolwork, and the other challenges it may pose, such as setting up parental controls or dealing with kids bypassing these restrictions.

This data is supposed to help the government provide insights into what to do next regarding the social media ban.

This isn’t the only study taking place in the UK that’s related to social media use. This year, an independent study will examine how reducing social media use affects adolescents.

Social media ban: to implement or not to implement?

The talk about social media restrictions has already been a hot topic worldwide, but it seems a particularly concerning issue in the UK.

A popular parent blog, Mumsnet, has run a social media ban campaign to draw the government’s attention to the need to address this issue, as it affects kids’ mental well-being.

The campaign compared the addictive nature of social media use to being as dangerous as smoking.

For this reason, many parents agree that their kids should be restricted from using social media, and this trend is spreading across the world.

Curious what others think about this story? Contribute your thoughts to the debate below.

Australia was the first country to implement social media restrictions for users under 16, starting in December, 2025, and will fine social media companies up to AUD$49.5 million (around $32 million) for failing to comply with the law.

Nevertheless, the social media ban has also received some backlash as it’s been speculated that young people will find ways to bypass these restrictions. It’s also been reported that, due to this ban, age verification will become more common, increasing the risk of user data exposure.

Almost four months after implementing the social media ban, the BBC has spoken with Australian teenagers to find out how it has affected them.

While some talked about being kicked off well-known social media platforms and seeing positive changes in their lives, others shared that they haven’t been affected at all and still use them, aware that they may lose their accounts during an upcoming check.

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