{"id":105149,"date":"2026-06-17T19:12:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T23:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.adviews.info\/news\/?p=105149"},"modified":"2026-06-17T19:12:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T23:12:10","slug":"stare-at-the-wall-teens-4-word-response-to-uk-social-media-ban-goes-viral","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adviews.info\/news\/?p=105149","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Stare at the wall\u2019: Teen\u2019s 4-word response to UK social media ban goes viral"},"content":{"rendered":"

What would you do if you were suddenly ousted from the world of social media? For one teenager from Britain, the choice is clear: stare at a wall.<\/span><\/p>\n

The United Kingdom (UK)\u2019s decision to ban social media for those less than 16 years of age is leading to a flood of reactions. But one of them has caught the fancy of the internet. When UK\u2019s national public broadcaster, the BBC, reached out to gauge the reaction of under-16s to the social media ban, which is set to come into effect in early 2027, one school student expressed disbelief.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t think it would actually happen. I did believe he [UK PM Keir Starmer, who announced the government\u2019s decision] would chicken out and give it more time, a little more consideration. But, he seems pretty sure of it and I am not sure if I agree with him,\u201d the bespectacled student wearing a school uniform said in the video that is now going viral.<\/p>\n

The student said they spent nearly nine hours on social media platforms daily. So what would they do to fill all the time they will have after the social media ban, the news show presenter asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cStare at a wall,\u201d came the response, which seemed to catch even the journalist off-guard due to its candidness.<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

A post shared by BBC News (@bbcnews)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some online commentars lauded the teenagers\u2019s \u201cdeadpan humour\u201d, while others labelled staring at a wall as arguably \u201chealthier than being on a phone\u201d or \u201cone of the exercises that helps you to focus your attention at one point\u201d.<\/p>\n

But experts are calling this a symptom of a larger issue and are warning that the sledgehammer approach of an outright ban can do more harm. Under-16s may end up feeling without guidance or be pushed to the darker parts of the internet.<\/p>\n

Why is UK banning social media for under-16s?<\/h2>\n

This is the best way to keep the children safe online, UK\u2019s Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said.<\/p>\n

A government release said that a national consultation from March to May 2026 showed \u201coverwhelming public demand for action, with 9 in 10 parents backing a social media ban for under\u201116s, and two-thirds of young people agreeing under-16s should not be allowed to use at least some social media platforms\u201d.<\/p>\n

The government has underlined that these changes are to protect children from the \u201cplatforms and\u202fonline\u202ffeatures that create the most harm\u201d.<\/p>\n

While announcing the measures, Starmer said he was\u00a0\u201cnot prepared to compromise on the safety and happiness of our children, and that is why this ban must happen, and why this ban will happen\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow we keep kids safe online is one of the biggest debates of our time. This is a choice about whose side we\u2019re on: families across the country, or a status quo that isn\u2019t working,\u201d Starmer said.<\/p>\n

What all is banned?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Under the ban, under-16s won\u2019t be able to access Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X. The ban doesn\u2019t cover messaging platform WhatsApp and popular gaming platform Roblox though the latter\u2019s chat feature will be disabled for the age group.<\/p>\n

While YouTube will be banned for under-16s, they can still access YouTube Kids, a version designed to be safe for children and with build-in restrictions such as a disabled comment section.<\/p>\n

\u201cHigh-risk features including livestreaming\u202fand strangers being\u202fable to contact children\u201d will also be restricted for under\u201116s on gaming platforms.<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What would you do if you were suddenly ousted from the world of social media? For one teenager from Britain, the choice is clear: stare at a wall. The United Kingdom (UK)\u2019s decision to ban social media for those less than 16 years of age is leading to a flood of reactions. But one of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adviews.info\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105149"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adviews.info\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adviews.info\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adviews.info\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adviews.info\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=105149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.adviews.info\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105149\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adviews.info\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=105149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adviews.info\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=105149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adviews.info\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=105149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}