Have your say on government e-petitions

Ban the use of smart phones & social media on the internet for under 18s

Submitted by Adam Wyman on Friday 25th July 2025

Published on Wednesday 6th August 2025

Current status: Closed

Closed: Friday 6th February 2026

Signatures: 129

Relevant Departments

Tagged with

Anxiety ~ Children ~ Concern ~ concerns ~ depression ~ Face ~ Internet ~ Media ~ mentalhealth ~ Phones ~ Reduced ~ RISE ~ Schools ~ Smart ~ Social media ~ span ~ Studies ~ The Internet ~ Young people

Petition Action

Ban the use of smart phones & social media on the internet for under 18s

Petition Details

We think the government should ban under-18s from owning or using smartphones or accessing social media. These changes aim to protect young people from what we believe are the harmful effects of early exposure, including poor mental health, reduced attention span, and social development issues.

Additional Information

Some studies show that smartphones and social media are linked to rising mental health issues in young people, including anxiety, depression and poor sleep. We are concerned that children can face cyberbullying and harmful content and social pressures they aren’t ready for. We believe that current age limits are widely ignored and a legal ban would protect young people and support parents and schools.


You can't sign this petition because it is now closed. But you can still comment on it here at Repetition.me!

Have your say on this petition!

comments powered by Disqus

repetition.me is a Good Stuff website

216.73.216.219 Wed, 03 Jun 2026 22:59:31 +0100