For teenage creators Layla Eleni and Ruby-Alexis, the digital arena \u2013 social media \u2013 has become a source of community and career opportunities. But as the government prepares to pull the plug on under-16\u2019s access to the platforms, that could all be about to change\u2026\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
At varying points throughout its history, Rome\u2019s Colosseum could hold an estimated 50,000 to 80,000 spectators. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever to have been built. Emperors and Vestals, Senators, Slaves and Citizens, all orders \u2013\u00a0ordines \u2013\u00a0of society would gather to watch gladiatorial fights and plays. Entertainment. Escapism. Political theatre. The Colosseum offered it all.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The largest immaterial amphitheatre, social media, holds 5.79 billion viewers worldwide. There we toddlers, children, tweens, teens, adults, Facebook boomers and beyond gather to witness bloodbaths in short-form. From deliberately dumb tweets to AI-generated fruit dramas on TikTok, there is something for us all to enjoy, get angry at \u2013 or both \u2013 online.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Would you not describe YouTube channel\u00a0Jubilee\u2019s\u00a0\u2018Liberal Man v 20 MAGA Women\u2019 debate as gladiatorial? Are you not entertained?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Layla Eleni\u2019s TikTok followers could fill the Colosseum more than 16 times over. <\/p>\n
At just 15-years-old, she has 1.3 million people watching her chatty lifestyle vlogs and \u2018Get Ready With Me\u2019 (GWRM) videos. Remembering the app in its prototypic form, Musical.ly, Layla started posting content when she was just 11-years-old.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So too did Ruby-Alexis. For a while, young Ruby\u2019s videos existed in the drafts section only. It was a bit of fun and she was good at it; a natural at talking to an expectant audience. <\/p>\n
But a surprise video of her dad doing her makeup saw her page blow up. \u201cIt was that video that made it bloom,\u201d said mum Emma.\u00a0Now at 15, Ruby has more than 283,000 followers, 12.6 million likes, and, on average, earns \u00a31,000 a month.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Both girls are currently sitting their Year 10 mock exams; both girls are on the brink of realising fully forged TikTok empires; and, as of spring 2027, both girls will lose it all \u2013 at least for a little while \u2013 as Britain\u2019s social media ban for under 16s is brought into effect.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Outgoing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to introduce a blanket-ban across social media platforms that will see under 16s prohibited from using Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and X. Those aged between 16 and 17 may also face overnight curfews. <\/p>\n
Dubbed \u2018Australia-plus\u2019, after the country became the first in the world to introduce sweeping restrictions for young people online, the move feels far-reaching and radical. Something of a stand against Big Tech by a government that has often been Bambi-ish \u2013 shaky and uncertain \u2013 on policy.<\/p>\n
To Layla and Ruby, it also feels personal.\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s so frustrating,\u201d said Ruby. \u201cWe\u2019ve built our accounts, and we work so hard for what we\u2019ve got. For this to be taken away, it\u2019s going to be hard to reach that again. There\u2019s not much I can do about it, but hopefully things change.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s something everyone knows,\u201d said Layla, who\u2019s videos have been liked more than 203 million times. \u201cTo go from that being a main source of entertainment, expression, and support, to not having it at all\u2026 people don\u2019t know a life without social media.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
While both girls will be on the cusp of turning 16, the possible consequences for their careers are incalculable. They are young girls that, largely, speak for and speak to other young girls. Their accounts might not be banned for too long. But those of their valuable followers might be.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cIt will be different,\u201d said Layla. \u201cEspecially because in my comments, I\u2019ve got a younger audience that come to me for support, whether that\u2019s school advice, skincare, makeup, or just day-to-day tips.\u201d Ruby, with her mostly younger followers, thinks it will have a big effect. When brands follow the numbers, and the big numbers on cheques and bank statements follow the brands, dips in views and followers can be risky business for influencers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Big deal.\u00a0In the\u00a0four<\/a>\u00a0hours or so a day young people spend on their phones or tablets, they can be accessing porn, extreme violence, and harmful views. Nine out of 10 of the UK\u2019s 13-15-year-old\u2019s have their own social media profiles, while a further 80% of 10-to-12-year-old\u2019s use the same platforms. If they aren\u2019t finding harmful content themselves, schoolmates are showing it to them.\u00a0<\/p>\n The National Crime Agency and Internet Watch Foundation are urging parents not to post pictures of their children for fears of AI-generated sexual abuse. Molly Russell took her own life aged 14. A coroner ruled that an algorithmic diet of harm played a direct role in her death.\u00a0\u201cInstagram helped kill my daughter,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0was dad Ian\u2019s verdict.\u00a0<\/p>\n The government rushing to join other countries around the world to ban these platforms doesn\u2019t look like overreach, doesn\u2019t look silly, in this light. It\u2019s a knee-jerk Hobbesian response; social media exists in the state of nature and to stop children leading solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short lives, they must be brought under government control. Announcing the plans, the prime minister said: \u201cI am not prepared to compromise on the safety and happiness of our children, and that is why this ban must happen.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Which makes sense says Diana Gheorghiu, from London-based organisation Child Rights International Network. \u201cDebates regarding children\u2019s rights in the digital environment sometimes get into quite polarised discussions, where protection is pitted against their free expression or privacy. It is understandable that people concerned about children\u2019s safety will mainly focus on children\u2019s right to protection from violence.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The girls agree too. Layla said: \u201cI\u2019m not going to neglect the fact that there are concerns with social media. A lot of the people who are putting the bans in place, a lot of people \u2013 especially adults \u2013 their concerns are valid. Social media isn\u2019t a safe place for any age range; there is harmful content available for anyone.\u201d Ruby added: \u201cThere\u2019s always negatives on social media.\u201d And yet they both conclude that this doesn\u2019t make it inherently bad.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n As any interaction with it will reveal, social media is a sensitive ecosystem. Creativity and danger coexist, and \u2013 as teenagers throughout time would argue \u2013 what is fun without a little fear? For Layla and Ruby, self-proclaimed extroverts, it is a source of expression. They have built communities from the ground up \u2013 assisted by some ghostly lever-pulling from the algorithm \u2013 where they inspire and are inspired by their digital peers.\u00a0<\/p>\n They\u2019ve found digital independence through brand deals. They have a laugh with their friends. They even use it as an educational tool \u2013 on the day of Layla\u2019s chemistry mock exam, she watched 20 TikToks and 50 YouTube videos on the topic. Mum Jenny said: \u201cI\u2019ve seen her grow in this space. Her confidence level growing has been amazing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n