'Social media addiction trial is historic - phones for kids should now be banned'

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said today that he is ‘very keen’ for the government to tackle addictive features within social media and said the ‘status quo isn’t good enough’.

‘Big tech had made it incredibly addictive’

Earlier this year the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC),a body which represents 23 medical royal colleges and faculties,warned of growing evidence of ‘health harms’ from tech on young people in the UK.

Dr Susie Davies said the answer is not just taking social media away from children,but replacing it with ‘youth clubs and extracurricular activities’.

The GP set up Parents Against Phone Addiction in Young Adults in 2018 to support families in handling phone use among young people.

She said a child or teenager comes into her surgery every day with a mental health problem linked with social media use.

The mum of three teenagers said that while she had raised her kids with limited smartphone access,there could be a ‘tsunami’ of follow-up lawsuits from other young people addicted to social media.

‘Tech companies are finally being held accountable after years of being seemingly untouchable for the content on their platforms,’ she told Metro.

Susie,who said she was delighted with the ruling,added: ‘The state of social media apps means it is just not safe for our young people. 

‘It is damaging their well-being. It is very,very hard for them to stop. It is not young people’s fault. Big tech had made it incredibly addictive.’

Dr Susie Davies says that she sees children with mental health problems linked to social media on a daily basis

What have Meta and Google said?

A Meta spokesperson said: ‘We respectfully disagree with the verdict and will appeal.‘Teen mental health is profoundly complex and cannot be linked to a single app.‘We will continue to defend ourselves vigorously as every case is different,and we remain confident in our record of protecting teens online.’A Google spokesperson said: ‘We disagree with the verdict and plan to appeal. This case misunderstands YouTube,which is a responsibly built streaming platform,not a social media site.’A DSIT spokesperson said: ‘This is a matter for the US courts. However,we remain completely committed to giving children here in the UK the enriching childhoods they deserve.‘That’s why we launched a consultation on bold measures to protect children online looking at everything from banning social media for under-16s to tackling addictive design features.‘When it comes to children’s safety,nothing is off the table and we will set out our plans in the summer.’Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at .