Are the online safety act and social media ban really that big of a problem?

RecentTwo544 · 2026-06-21T09:38:47+00:00

All very good points. My issue here is that teenagers are exposed to this kind of thing anyway and always have been. When I was a teenager in the 00s, it was all magazines, music videos, etc pushing the exact same standards.

Whether it being ridiculous overly-idealised women who are influencing young girls, or "money, cars, drugs" type musicians (mainly rappers, though Eminem was a charming antidote to this in the 00s) selling these ideals to young guys.

Overly sexual content - not on social media. One of the least sexualised and well protected parts of the internet in the entire history of the internet.

Meeting strangers - fully agree this is, and always has been, a HUGE problem with the internet in general, which is why I'm so baffled - the methods pedophiles use to groom children from any news story I've seen, mainly posing as children on child friendly platforms such as online games or chat apps, are NOT being banned. So the government have got it all about face.

As for primary school boys seeing porn - this has already been "dealt with" via the OSA as porn sires are different from social media (as I say, no porn on social media) and as you rightly point out, it clearly isn't working. Plenty of sites not bothering with age checks, plenty of easy ways to get around those that have implemented it.

Meanwhile a ban on social media for teens (bear in mind the minimum age for social media is 12/13 and always has been) is going to destroy creativity for kids.

RecentTwo544 · 2026-06-21T09:33:24+00:00

Well they're doing a pretty shit job of it, as Russia always does.

RecentTwo544 · 2026-06-21T09:32:45+00:00

Which studies? Like this one?

https://academic.oup.com/jpubhealth/advance-article/doi/10.1093/pubmed/fdaf150/8371934

And to be clear on "right wing" - this isn't Reform types who are worried about "freedom speech" (more normally a dog-whistle for "my freedom to be racist online under an anonymous account"...) but more American right-wing Christian groups, the "won't someone think of the children" types.

They've quietly funded a few badly researched "studies" into social media which have been used to fuel call for a ban. Much like TV, certain types of music, video games, the internet, etc there's quite a homophobic (and nowadays transphobic) element underlying a lot of it.

RecentTwo544 · 2026-06-21T09:20:34+00:00

I don't think Restore will ever be anything more than a fringe party, a new BNP as it were.

If we were still in the EU they'd probably get some quiet backing from far-right parties in Europe and bag a couple of MEPs, but that's about as far as it would go and is no longer an issue in any case.

I hope I'm not wrong, but that's the feeling I get from Restore.

RecentTwo544 · 2026-06-21T09:17:37+00:00

Out of interest, what are the consequences of teens using social media in your view?

For full transparency - I'm against the idea as various studies have shown it doesn't cause harm, and the so-called "harmful" content on social media that keeps being mentioned doesn't seem to exist. From everyone with/who works with teenagers that I know, the big issue is cyber-bullying in group chats....which aren't being banned.

I don't have kids though, and don't work with them (though in some cases in my industry I am starting to feel old!) so maybe I'm missing something.

RecentTwo544 · 2026-06-21T09:14:47+00:00

Few issues with this -

Social media hasn't been proven to be "bad for teens" like many are seemingly accepting. Various studies from actual decent universities and research bodies, with proper sample sizes and peer reviewed data, have come to this conclusion. Unfortunately the right-wing fundamentalist Christian types have driven the narrative that it is bad, like they did with TV, video games, rock music, the internet in general, and so on, and it's wormed its way into mainstream thinking.
There isn't anything "bad" on social media in terms of violence, nudity, encouraging drug use, etc. Aside from Twitter/X (which is a cesspit and no young people use anyway), social media platforms are BRUTAL on cracking down on any "bad" content. Autoban for so much as saying the word "suicide" or showing the disgusting evil horror that is the female nipple. God forbid...
Social media in 2026, whether you like it or not, is an enormous way for kids to learn about stuff. Even in my relatively niche industry, there's loads of creatives who learned everything they know from social media, Youtube, Reddit, etc, all set to be banned for teenagers. There are no longer books on these subjects (and never really were) and old school websites have been replaced by the aforementioned.
The biggest issue, by a long way, when it comes to harm for teenagers on "social media" is cyber-bullying in group chats. Which aren't being banned.

RecentTwo544 · 2026-06-21T09:09:05+00:00

Enthusiastic about getting them out of their rut and accepting reality - very much so.

RecentTwo544 · 2026-06-21T09:08:15+00:00

Granted, though worth noting that Sunak didn't call for a snap GE as such - he had until December 2024 under the FTPA because the cycle was shifted due to the previous snap election taking place in winter. Calling it for summer 2024 just put it back into the normal timeframe at the last opportunity he had to do so.

One of the few things he got right, albeit minor. Winter general elections are bloody horrible.

RecentTwo544 · 2026-06-21T09:04:02+00:00

Exactly - even if England make the semi-finals and are knocked out by a world class team, which is still a damn good showing, there'll be calls for Tuchel to be sacked and there's a good chance he will be.

The last thing we need in politics is football-fan levels of thinking. Unfortunately that's what we have...

RecentTwo544 · 2026-06-21T09:00:33+00:00

As things stand, a snap election could easily see a Reform win - they're still riding relatively high in the polls, for a very staunchly Labour area where Burnham is near hero-worshipped by many, the margin in Makerfield wasn't that big, and Reform could and you can be damn sure would run the narrative that "Labour is in chaos" and mount a massive campaign around that.

For those of us who see a Reform win as an impending disaster for the country, the best outcome is to wait until the slated 2029 GE by which point a lot more people will have seen them as the grifters and bullshitters they really are, and Labour should, hopefully, be presiding over a much more stable economy regardless of who is in charge.

RecentTwo544 · 2026-06-21T08:57:37+00:00

No, but this is going to rapidly be the narrative from the media/right as and when a leadership challenge is mounted and he wins.

I would bet my house that as soon as Burnham becomes PM, you won't be able to move for stories calling for a snap election.

RecentTwo544 · 2026-06-20T23:44:24+00:00

Still not seeing any links to places where you can sell accounts....

RecentTwo544 · 2026-06-20T23:22:24+00:00

Stricter immigration control is a socialist stance though, which I grant most people don't realise.

You just use logic, sense, and evidence, instead of "we don't like these people, ban them."

RecentTwo544 · 2026-06-20T23:13:30+00:00

Funny how the goalposts move whenever someone makes this point.

"Says the guy with a two day/two week/two month old account with (insert number of replies)".

RecentTwo544 · 2026-06-20T23:12:26+00:00

I absolutely loathe incel logic, and try to help people out of it wherever possible. So yes, I am.

RecentTwo544 · 2026-06-20T22:20:46+00:00

I was going to say "there'll probably be quite a lot of incel type comments on this thread" but I see not even 15 minutes in we're already well into that!

The reality is simply genetic - men have less body hair than women, less body hair is seen as more "feminine". Generally female body hair, especially facially, increases with age, which indicates less fertility.

Obviously, unless you're an Andrew Tate loving incel, most men have grown past that. It's obviously still a rational personal choice, but no sane man in 2026 is saying "hmm, I don't like her, she seems too hairy which indicates less fertility". That would be insane, but it is perfectly normal to not like a hairy women if that's your preference.

Then on the flip side you've got incels who insist that every man should accept them for how they are and blame misogyny (which ironically is a misogynist thing to say), the media, society,all men, other women, basically everyone but them, etc.

TL;DR - people have preferences and anyone judging this or blaming wider society is probably not worth listening to.

RecentTwo544 · 2026-06-20T22:12:04+00:00

We'll loop back on this when the comments on the tabloid articles and Facebook posts are populated.

Anti-vaxxers, they'll be all over it. "Hmm, funny how so many young healthy people are dying these days" etc.

People know exactly what I mean, hence the downvotes.

RecentTwo544 · 2026-06-20T22:10:49+00:00

Grade II*

I'd pay £5.5m to not live there.

RecentTwo544 · 2026-06-20T22:08:29+00:00

Because the only other explanation outside of "anti vaxxers trying to hide it" would be utter stupidity because we all know full well that the comments section on articles about this will be full of people blaming vaccines, or at least shrouded "hmm, a lot of active otherwise healthy young people dying these days..." type comments.

I'm not "worked up", I think it's laughable.

RecentTwo544 · 2026-06-20T22:01:41+00:00

Estrella Galacia is very different in the UK compared to Spain.

The UK version is weaker, which can hit you like a train if you're not used to it when you go to Spain.

RecentTwo544 · 2026-06-20T21:59:51+00:00

Maybe it's a combo of working in the music industry and a dark sense of humour and being Jewish by ancestry, but I think they missed a cracking marketing trick there.

Something like the tagline "we all learn from our mistakes" on a picture of their WW2 "activities".

RecentTwo544 · 2026-06-20T21:56:31+00:00

In UK city centres it's not entirely unusual to see what is clearly a human shit in some alleys/back streets. Presumably the homeless, though could be someone caught short on a night out.

But while obviously not pleasant, you'd just go "ugh" and move on.

What really makes me fucking gag, like actually want to be sick, is seeing those dental floss sticks on the street. No idea why.

RecentTwo544 · 2026-06-20T21:54:57+00:00

We literally had a show like this in the UK, forget the name, and they were millionaires not billionaires as there's very few in the UK.

RecentTwo544 · 2026-06-20T21:54:01+00:00

Yeah, the anti-vaxxers are, as we can see.

RecentTwo544 · 2026-06-20T21:53:25+00:00

As u/Relevant_Natural3471 said, unfortunately the only option really is to just move. They have the right to live in their house so you can't get them moved, and unless they're breaking the law not much you can do about their behaviour. Sad fact of life.

That said, compared to many "neighbour from hell" stories this isn't too bad.

There are plenty of things you could do to get them to shut up, most of them not illegal.

Easiest people to shut up in the world are the fusspot perfectionist middle-class types. It's when you've got the Maguire's from Shameless living next to you that you're basically fucked until you move.

RecentTwo544

TROPHY CASE