Counting the Cost of Social Media for Under 16s

[.style-intro] Social media may now be costing the UK up to £3 billion a year in teen mental ill health. A major new Smartphone Free Childhood report examines the growing economic and human cost of the teen mental health crisis — and argues that government now has a clear opportunity to act. [.style-intro]

About the report

‍Social media may now be costing the UK up to £3 billion a year in teen mental ill health.

Counting the Cost of Social Media for Under 16s is a major new Smartphone Free Childhood report examining the growing economic and human cost of the teen mental health crisis — and the role smartphones and social media may be playing in driving it.

Our analysis suggests mental ill health linked to social media could now be costing the UK £2–3 billion every year through NHS treatment, welfare payments and lost tax revenue.

Behind the numbers is a generation struggling:
➤ Teenage mental health hospital admissions up 65% in a decade
➤ 1 in 4 young people aged 17–19 now experiencing probable mental health disorders
➤ Around 140,000 young people out of work primarily because of mental ill health

Academics will continue debating causation and correlation. But across homes, schools and playgrounds, many parents feel the same thing: children were happier before social media colonised their lives.

The government is currently deciding whether to raise the age for social media to 16 through its Growing up in the online world consultation.

This report argues that the UK can no longer afford to treat this only as a parenting or public health issue. It is now an economic and policy issue too — and one where ministers have a clear opportunity to materially change the trajectory.

It’s time to raise the age for social media to 16.

[.style-link]Download Counting the Cost of Social Media for Under 16s report[.style-link]
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