Expert Comment
Professor Andrew Oswald on the Government's proposed social media ban for under-16s
Commenting on the Prime Minister's announcement today proposing to ban social media for all children under-16, Andrew Oswald, Professor of Economics and Behavioural Science, says:
"On the balance of the scientific evidence, the Prime Minister’s decision is defensible. It is a good choice in a complicated and emotive area of life.
"Bans are, admittedly, coarse instruments. They fray at the edges. Some young people will be tenacious in finding their way through this particular block.
"But I have spent the last two months reviewing the evidence (I give a keynote address to European wellbeing researchers on the topic later this week at a conference in Luxembourg). The literature now spans more than 5000 articles in scientific journals. It covers a range of evidence, including randomized controlled trials and statistical studies from multiple nations.
"My assessment is that, overall, social media hurts the happiness and mental health of young females – mainly through constant and harmful ‘comparisons’. For males, I am not so convinced. Yet there is little evidence that, overall, social media makes youngish males happier."
ENDS
Notes to editors:
Professor Oswald has spend the last three decades studying human happiness and mental health.
His forthcoming lecture slides on social media and happiness can be found at www.andrewoswald.com