Social media ban: Hampshire mum says social media is as harmful to children as smoking

A Hampshire mum-of-three and online expert says social media it's "just as harmful” to children as gambling, smoking and alcohol.

Geo James, 33, has worked as a social media consultant both freelance and for brands for 15 years and has “always been worried” about her own screen time as she had “really unhealthy screen habits”.

But since having children, now aged five, three and 10 months she says “it has been exacerbated”.

She has never bought digital tablets for her children to have their own personal screen and has agreed with husband Brendan, 35, a software engineer, if they have access to a phone when they are teens it will be one without access to social media.

The UK government announced a social media ban for under 16s on June 15 and the first regulations will be implemented by the end of the year.

Geo believes the new government-imposed ban is “only the start” and there is still “a lot to be done” to protect kids from online harm.

Along with her husband, she has already changed how she uses her phone in front of her kids to set a good example.

Geo from Winchester, said: “I’d draw parallels with other harmful activities like smoking, gambling and alcohol – there are regulations on all of those where children are concerned. As someone working in the space for so long, I believe social media is just as harmful as all of those banned substances.

“The extreme side is the massively increased data of girls with eating disorders getting inspiration and tips of how to hide their disorder from their parents from social media.

“There is also a rise in incel culture in young boys exacerbated with social media use. It leads to male loneliness from social media use but also affects how they treat and respond to women as well as well.

“Things like self-esteem across young people is a problem reflected in NHS figures. On the less deep side of things there are so many trends that are really harmful.

“There are news stories every week of children putting clothes in microwaves or eating things like laundry tablets for trends or dares they’ve learnt from TikTok and I’ve seen videos on TikTok encouraging them to do it.

“Some adults might not have the capacity to understand why that is not right, but kids definitely don’t have that capacity to do that – and it’s the job of parents, governments and organisations to protect and educate children."

Geo avoids using her phone in front of her kids, and when she does, she says out loud what she is using it for.

“It’s so they see phones as tools that are useful in our lives but nothing more, and so they don’t see them as something core to our personalities,” she told Talk to the Press. “We try and engage the children in as many activities as possible that are not related to devices.

“We’re introducing them to a ton of sports whilst they’re young to see if they find a passion or interest. We’re encouraging reading as a core family activity.

“We do watch family films together but we make it an interactive event and we are all looking forward to it. We’re not a screen-free home but we see it the same as people’s approach to food and diet. We’re not restricting sugar or banning snacks or glorifying treats but building habits ourselves."

Geo says Instagram’s new teen accounts give a “false illusion” of safety.

She says: “By the way of a parent who doesn’t understand much about things like algorithms or content protection and how they work might think ‘Oh, Instagram has rolled out teen accounts, they must be completely safe and no content that is unsafe will reach my teen’.

“We already know from the community element that cyber bullying and comment sections are still open.

“I and many of my friends have set up a test to create an account as if you’re a 16-year-old girl through the teen accounts and after having access for a couple of days using the app you’re already being fed harmful content.

“We know the regulations aren’t there within the apps themselves. It is naive of us to assume tech companies will take responsibility and it’s things like government policy and education for parents that we need to tackle safety issues”.

She hit back at suggestions the social media ban stops children accessing communities and educational opportunities.

“We need to better use resources so children do have access to a life - especially underprivileged children – to sport or a real-world community that still meets their needs without having to turn to screens to meet them," she said.

“I’ve seen how possible it is for a happy childhood and community to exist offline but I also know how easy it can be to be sucked into the wrong path if you’re a lonely child, or live in an area of the UK where nobody looks like you, or you come from a community seeking belonging in other ways.

“To see a bit of movement and appetite from the government, taking it seriously, is a slight relief that we’re going in the right direction and it feels like change is possible.

“I’ve tried really heard throughout my career to be really ethical in practices and advocated for better representation, inclusivity and diversity in social media. I think social media is for adults and when used in moderation is empowering. There are really good ways to give voices to people who wouldn’t otherwise have a voice.

“I think we enjoy those areas positively as adults but still protect children from the places they are not developmentally equipped to navigate”.

Geo’s book Click Me Baby One More Time, a deep dive into how digital use affects our lives from a millennial perspective with their own screen addictions and experience in the industry, is out now.