28 May 2026

by Emma Davidson

It’s been about a year since the Netflix show “Adolescence” premiered and has thrown British society into turmoil. The series about a young teenager who supposedly killed his female classmate had left British politicians in a rather proactive state. Politicians were speaking out against online misogyny and supporting women’s rights after watching the series. 

The Netflix drama was among the winners at the Bafta Television Awards, where leading actor and producer Stephen Graham said in his speech "[…]we're not saving lives, but we have the opportunity to tell the human condition […]”. 

Since almost a year now there has been talk about banning social media for children and the government says it is committed to implementing social media restrictions for children under 16, consulting on an outright ban as well as other measures. However, there has been some criticism on a complete ban and there has been an urge to "make sure it works" before introducing radical changes to social media restrictions.

In January 2026 a group of concerned people, including charities and families, warned that a complete social media ban for children under 16 could have “serious unintended consequences that could put children at greater risk”. They doubt that a ban, although well-intentioned, would improve children’s online safety and wellbeing. According to the group, it would be a “blunt response that fails to address the successive shortcomings of tech companies and governments to act decisively and sooner”.

Since the Netflix drama sparked discussions after its release about a year ago, there haven’t been many changes in social media regulations for teenagers and children. Although social media usage is a hot topic now, politicians seem to take it slow in response to the sharp criticism on the effect it could have on young people. Whether there will be a complete ban of social media for children under 16 or other regulations concerning children’s online activity remains to be seen. 

Sources and further reading:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y76dll19po 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y7d2zx63jo 

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-10468/ 

“Proposals to ban social media for children”, Commons Library Research Briefing, 22 May 2026