'Parents beg us for help with 'crack cocaine for kids' - but it's social media'

'Parents beg us for help with 'crack cocaine for kids' - but it's social media' EXCLUSIVE: Mumsnet founder Justine Roberts tells The Mirror that Keir Starmer's social media ban under-16s is welcome but the fight isn't over, as parents across the country beg for help with phone addiction in children Meet the woman who is waging her own war against social media addiction as parents across the country beg for help in prizing kids away from their phones. Justine Roberts, founder of Mumsnet, knows all too well just how dangerous the online world can be for children as millions of British mums visit the forum each day to share horror stories and seek advice. While she welcomes the government's new crackdown on social media for under 16s, Justine warns there's still far more to be done to protect children from the addiction crisis and online predators. Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed today that Labour would be imposing a ban on social media for under 16s as part of a seismic package of online safety measures to protect youngsters. The PM pledged to take on the tech giants and "call time on a system that's failing kids". Under-16s will be restricted from using sites including TikTok, Instagram, Threads, Facebook, X, YouTube, Snapchat and Reddit. Justine tells The Mirror that a whopping 83% of Mumsnet users support a delay in social media use for under 16s, but feel that more responsibility needs to be taken by tech firms profiting from their children. "I think most people believe that tech companies should also be made to make their platform safe by design and less addictive, but in the meantime while we wait for that to happen delaying social media access is a good help," she says. With addictive algorithms designed like slot machines to maximise screen time, experts have long warned that our children's brains are being rewired by social media. Teachers have even told the Mirror that kids are trying to zoom in on physical books in class. However, Justine knows all too well that it's a tricky problem to tackle in the home, with many parents "relying on technology as a way to support and keep their children happy." "It's highly absorbing and can distract your child," the mum-of-four explains, "but almost 95% of our users say they think social media and phone use has a negative effect on children's wellbeing. So it might work as a short term fix but in the long run with the addictive nature and how many arguments it can cause in households trying to restrict phones, it doesn't help anyone." The founder said one parent even compared her daughter's phone to hard drugs and said she felt like she was "allowing a crack user to have crack in her bedroom every night," while others shared stories of their children waking up in the middle of the night and searching for their phones that had been hidden. "Social media definitely does have those addictive features and I do think the comparison with cigarettes is quite apt," she adds. "It's that infinite scrolling, autoplay and constant dopamine hits - who knows what it's doing to developing brains." Justine has also heard harrowing stories from mums worried about their teenage girls online. "Girls are being encouraged with body image, unattainable aspirations and even more worryingly with suicide sites," she said. "It's the worst of the web and it doesn't take long to find it, it's endless. We love technology and it can be so useful, but it seems like these big tech companies haven't really made any effort to make their products safe, so I am very much hoping the government forces them to." The new restrictions, set to be passed by Christmas and in place by spring next year, will leave technology firms, rather than children, liable for enforcement action if they fail to comply. But even with the new plans, Justine is aware it can be hard for parents solely to try and tighten controls around social media and phone usage - especially when their friends all have phones without restricted access. In a bid to tackle phone addiction early on, Mumsnet has collaborated with Nothing and Safety Mode to develop a smartphone designed specifically for children. Called the 'Other Phone' it's been dubbed the safest phone on the market for kids and helps parents monitor phone useage with limited access to apps. The phone also has content filtering, including on WhatsApp, so parents can rest assured even those messages are safe for their children. "There is also location tracking which many parents also said they wanted," Justine says. "It makes it easier for parents to have control over what their child is seeing without having to take the phone away." "This phone should have been created by big tech firms years ago," she says. "Safety comes first and parents can control the access. They can decide which apps appear on the phone, there is also a web filtering block as well as social media and restricted sites." Sharing her full views on the upcoming ban for under 16s, Justine says: "Today's announcement is a huge moment for children's online safety, and for every parent who has felt powerless in the face of addictive technology designed to keep children scrolling. For too long, families have been told this was simply a matter of better parenting, while billion-dollar companies built products to capture and hold children's attention for as long as possible, regardless of the effect on their wellbeing. "This announcement recognises what parents have been saying for years: that children's health and happiness must come before the commercial interests of Big Tech. That is why we launched Mumsnet's Rage Against The Screen campaign, and why we are delighted that the government has listened to parents, to Mumsnet users and to other campaigners, and chosen to take meaningful action. "But this is not the end of the fight. Big Tech will work hard to defend business models built on keeping young people online for as long as possible. The success of these measures will depend on effective implementation, enforcement and regular monitoring. What matters now is that this commitment endures beyond the headlines, and is carried through with the urgency children and families deserve."