Safety on social media has been a hot topic for a while. In fact, it was one of Battenhall’s standout trends for 2024 that we predicted would influence the social media landscape this year.

In recent weeks, however, the topic has been thrust back into the spotlight – with particular focus on teenage online safety. Australia’s Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, has revealed plans for a social media age limit (likely to be 16+ only) – which would make the country one of the first in the world to impose such a ban.

 Meta has also made headlines by announcing new ‘teen accounts’ for Instagram users under 18, giving parents of youngsters in the US, UK, Australia, and Canada greater controls over their childs’ activity on the app – including the ability to limit usage, check DMs, and see content categories being viewed.

With change on the horizon, three Battenhallers spanning three generations have weighed in on the news – sharing their own stories of exposure to social media, and how these new changes might change the future for youngsters online.

Generation X: Mark Stuart, Director

A phrase I often use is: “You can’t put the genie back in the bottle.” In the case of social media and digital devices, I strongly believe that is the case. 

But as a late Gen X cohort, who grew up in the 80s and 90s without a mobile phone or any social media, I perhaps don’t feel the absolute necessity of the platforms in the same way as a digital native. 

My son, however, does. He’s just started secondary school and is about to turn 12, and as a parent it’s difficult to hold back the tide. He wants a smartphone (I haven’t yet relented), and I’m sure the peer pressure to have social media accounts may soon emerge. 

For now, he’s content watching YouTube for limited periods at home. But even then, I see how quickly he gets consumed by the algorithm and doesn’t want to put it down once he’s started. 

I have major reservations about screen addiction, attention deficit issues, and anxieties it must create in our younger generations. But at the same time I acknowledge that times have changed and the way we communicate. Digital and social media offer a wealth of innovation, entertainment, news and social connection that previous generations couldn’t have dreamt of. 

Like anything, education is key – from parents to schools, organisations to governments. Bringing forward a blanket ban, as in Australia, may not be the best solution – and potentially not even logistically feasible. But at least it’s opening up conversations and raising awareness of the issue. 

In the UK, a lobbying group called Smartphone Free Childhood is also attempting to push this discussion into the mainstream and schools are starting to listen.

Will it change young people’s use of social media drastically? I doubt it. There are ways around everything and kids usually find them. But will governments and regulators seek to make social platforms more accountable? Almost certainly. 

The $13bn fine imposed on Apple recently shows how regulators can wield immense power. If similar threats are issued to social networks over child safety, then we may see a radical change in the way the platforms allow content, advertising, age checks and more to be used without too many restrictions.

Millennial: Charlea Hale-Abusham, Senior Content Director

I vividly remember two big digital events in my life: the arrival of the first computer in our home, and being given my first mobile phone.

The former happened in the late ‘90s, and involved a boxy machine that was primarily used for Word and Minesweeper. The latter happened in 2004, and took the form of a Nokia 3310 with £10 credit per month, and the ability to send texts, make calls, and play Snake.

The closest thing I had to social media was MSN Messenger, which I would sit on every night for hours, messaging the same people I’d spent the entire school day with. Soon after came the advent of Facebook, MySpace and Bebo (remember that?), but being such new platforms meant everyone - including their founders - was in a test-and-learn environment. We weren’t scrolling for hours, no one was marketing to us there, and most of my pages existed as a personal space with a curated ‘Top Friends’ list and a carefully-selected ‘skin’ for my profile.

It was all conducted and digested in a light, snackable way. When the computer was shut down, social media was cut off. If mum needed to use the landline, I’d have to drop offline until she was done. I had no way to log on remotely – everything happened at home, on our PC, right under my parents’ noses.

Although it was frustrating then, I feel lucky now that my early teens were spent with such light access. The quick advancement of technology after showed me how addictive social media can be. In classic millennial style, I’ve fallen victim to doomscrolling and device reliance all too often. But, having known a life before, I’m also well-equipped to unplug and set my own screen-free boundaries too.

The problem is, it’s harder for younger generations to have those limits because they’ve never had to. Social media and digital culture are so embedded in society that most kids have never known a life without. If they don’t have their own screens that enable constant access, they’ll be reliant on them at school – and I’m sure it sets educational and social development back if technology isn’t embraced with open arms.

What Australia’s ban highlights quite rightly is the dark side of social media, which feels like more of an issue at this point. But I don’t think the solution to keeping teens safe online is removing their access altogether. Where there’s a will, there’s a way – and how can we even expect young people to cut themselves off when their parents (my demographic and above) always have their own phones in hand anyway? 

Instead, the onus to remedy the mental health crisis and protect young people online should fall on social networks themselves. Platforms should be working harder to limit harmful content, discourage addictive algorithms, and put downtime boundaries in place that make it harder for teens to spend every waking moment online. 

Instagram has just announced it will be doing a version of this with ‘teen accounts’ that give parents certain controls over their under-18s’ access to the platform. While I’m not sure such stringent parental guidance is the right answer, it definitely feels like a step in the right, safer direction.

While I’m not sure what the future looks like for teens online, I do believe that, until more platforms become more accountable for their massive role in the problem, we certainly can’t expect - or force - these innocent consumers to be cut off from all they’ve ever known.

Gen Z: Issie Burton, Senior Account Executive 

My parents wouldn’t let me have a Facebook account at 11 years old, even though some of my friends did. At that time, Facebook was limited to a home computer, rather than living in my pocket 24/7, and day-to-day conversations still primarily revolved around the real world rather than the virtual.

Today’s 11-year olds don’t have that ‘church and state’ separation. Life is very much social-first from the moment you become part of a community, like school. What’s more, social media is more than what it was when I was 11. It’s evolved from a communication tool to an information hub.

Ironically, social media is where I heard about this proposed ban in Australia. But that’s not that surprising when considering it’s also where I learned to cook before heading to uni, where I learned to paint to fuel my creativity. It’s where I discover music, how I travel the world, and has shaped the person I’ve become with passions, opinions and knowledge and a refined sense of self. 

Should the government have had a say in what age I was able to take that exploration? It’s a no from me. And what about the brands that have created their own digital footprints to feed our imaginations and interests? Blocking them from an entire demographic of users is likely to have a profound impact on their future too.

You could argue that, although I’m in my twenties, I’m still not old enough for social media. On a recent holiday my friends and I went for a swim in the sea, leaving our phones behind in the apartment. I felt like I’d lost a limb and was concerned I’d ‘miss something important’. Is that healthy? Probably not. But I think that shows that age isn’t the challenge here. 

The social user experience has been designed to be inherently addictive. Anxious scrolling has unfortunately overshadowed the good that comes from the content we consume – and platforms have created an endless space for the more negative and sinister content to breed too.

But I’d argue these issues are best tackled by those at the helm of our social networks – like Meta is starting to do this week with Teen Accounts – rather than political figureheads. Until then, discipline and awareness are key – and very much in the hands of the user, and their parents too.

‍To learn how our team can help with your social media strategy and content, visit our website or email hello@battenhall.com.