SAM ROWLANDS, Member of the Welsh Parliament for North Wales, says age restrictions in social media are long overdue.
Mr Rowlands was speaking in the Senedd during the Welsh Conservative debate calling on the Welsh Labour Government to support a motion to restrict social media for under-16s.
As a father of three children under the age of 16, he said: “It was the Centre for Social Justice’s ‘Lost Boys: Boyhood’ report that showed that children are growing up in a world where screens and technology are dominating their earliest years.
“Screens aren’t just a distraction, they’re shaping how young people think, learn and interact with the world. It is for that reason that we need to have appropriate safeguards in place.
“Research just from last year shows that, in the UK, 815,000 children in that age bracket of three to five are already using at least one social media app or site. Children aged three, four and five, over 800,000 of them are already on social media. Among 10 to 15-year-olds, 96 % of that age group are on social media.
“In 2009, children aged five to 15 spent around nine hours a week in front of a screen. By 2018, that had jumped to 15 hours a week, and it’s only increased since then.
“A child who turned eight in 2024 will spend the equivalent of 319 full days online by the time they reach 14 years—almost a full year of childhood on a screen within a few years.
“And what are they seeing? Seven in 10 have been exposed to harmful content, one in seven have experienced grooming-type behaviour, and more than half have been victims of cyber bullying. These are statistics we cannot ignore.
“Welsh Conservatives are showing leadership in this area, prioritising the well-being and safety of our children over convenience. It’s about giving parents the tools they need.
“It’s about setting clear standards for what is safe and appropriate in our society. Age restrictions on social media are long overdue. Children deserve protection, parents deserve support and our society deserves safer online spaces.”
Both Labour and Plaid Cymru did not back the Welsh Conservative’s motion which proposed that the Senedd calls on the UK Government to restrict access to social media for children under 16.
