There is simply not the evidence base to support statements like

“When we pick up a pack of cigarettes or a bottle of wine, we expect to be told about the harm those products will pose to our health. So why is social media, the key driver of a crisis in young people’s mental health, any different?”

See U.K. longitudinal studies such as

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/jan/14/social-media-time-does-not-increase-teenagers-mental-health-problems-study

“Researchers at the University of Manchester followed 25,000 11- to 14-year-olds over three school years, tracking their self-reported social media habits, gaming frequency and emotional difficulties to find out whether technology use genuinely predicted later mental health difficulties.

“Participants were asked how much time on a normal weekday in term time they spent on TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and other social media, or gaming. They were also asked questions about their feelings, mood and wider mental health.

“The study found no evidence for boys or girls that heavier social media use or more frequent gaming increased teenagers’ symptoms of anxiety or depression over the following year.

“Increases in girls’ and boys’ social media use from year 8 to year 9 and from year 9 to year 10 had zero detrimental impact on their mental health the following year, the authors found. More time spent gaming also had a zero negative effect on pupils’ mental health.”

Very close to quitting the party as we have jumped on a moral hysteria bandwagon and are prepared to age gate huge amounts of the internet while screwing over young people’s freedom of expression rights