It comes as the UK government’s consultation on children and social media draws to a close.
Rosalind McClean, Regional Leader for Smartphone Free Childhood Northern Ireland at 10 Downing Street
More than 1,800 people in Northern Ireland have signed a petition calling on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to raise the age of social media to 16.
It comes as the UK government’s consultation on children and social media draws to a close. The consultation examined measures including a ban on social media for under-16s – and the government is expected to announce a policy within weeks.
The petition gathered over 110,000 signatures across the UK. It was delivered to 10 Downing Street by members of the Smartphone Free Childhood (SFC) movement including Rosalind McClean, SFC Regional Leader for Northern Ireland.
“Social media is becoming ever more addictive, more toxic, and more harmful to our kids – and families in Northern Ireland have had enough,” said Rosalind McClean, SFC Northern Ireland Regional Leader.
“Policy hasn’t kept up with the rate of technological change, and while tech companies are cashing in, it’s families and children who are losing out. What we need is swift, decisive action from government to reset the system so that all kids are protected.”
Local parents added their voice at a critical moment with petition signatures reflecting growing concern among families that the current system is not working.
“A generation of children is being damaged by social media. Parents can see it. Doctors can see it. Schools can see it,” Rosalind added. “This consultation is a real chance to fix something that families across the country are struggling with.”
The petition calls for a simple, common sense reset: if social media companies want access to under-16s, they must prove their platforms are safe and age-appropriate first.
Alongside the petition, families in Northern Ireland are also taking action in their own communities. More than 4,500 local parents have now signed a Parent Pact, agreeing to delay smartphones until at least 14 and social media until 16. These pacts, they say, help parents act together – reducing peer pressure and making it easier to hold boundaries at home.
“Parents are coming together to delay smartphones and social media in their school communities, which makes it so much easier and means that your child isn’t left the only one without,” said Rosalind. “The Pact helps level the playing field, but ultimately we need more support from government, because not every parent has the time or tech knowledge to protect their child.”
Smartphone Free Childhood Regional Leaders from across the UK at 10 Downing Street
The Northern Ireland figures are part of a wider wave of parent-led action across the UK. A quarter of a million parents wrote to their MP in January, asking them to raise the age of social media, which resulted in the government launching a consultation into the issue.
The petition delivery comes as a major new UK-wide survey of parents has revealed the depth of despair many families now feel about childhood in the age of social media, with overwhelming numbers saying parenting has become harder, family life more conflict-ridden, and childhood fundamentally worse than their own.
The report, Dispatches from the New Frontier of Parenting, published by Smartphone Free Childhood, gathers testimony from 2,422 families across the UK and captures the forces that have fuelled one of the fastest-growing parent movements in the world.
What began less than two years ago as a WhatsApp group between a handful of concerned parents has grown into a movement of more than half a million families, with 45 international spin-offs.
Campaigners including Daisy Greenwell, co-founder of Smartphone Free Childhood, say the message from families is clear: “Responsibility needs to sit with the companies that design and profit from these platforms. Until they can show their products are safe for children, they shouldn’t have access to them.”
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