Banning under-16s from social media was one of Keir Starmer’s last acts as prime minister before he stepped down in July 2026. Following Australia’s ban on under-16s in 2025, which turbocharged the debate globally, the UK ban is timetabled for early 2027.

As Meta’s $18bn (£13.2bn) recent settlement over teen addiction to its online platforms demonstrates, there is growing recognition that social media poses real risks to young people.

Thinking around this issue is constantly developing. Popular platforms such as Instagram and TikTok offer an endless stream of algorithm-driven material tailored specifically to each consumer. And while the full effect of social media use on developing brains is unclear, parents, teachers and politicians have all expressed concerns around the social and emotional impact of this consumption on young people.

Social media feeds off a portrayal of real life that is fundamentally unreal. And in an age of filters, AI and engagement farming (using manipulative and often misleading tactics to boost engagment), the distinction between performance and reality online is increasingly blurred. In the face of this targeted barrage, children and teenagers are ill-equipped to distinguish between reality and the performance of that unreality flickering across their screens.

I’m a classicist and theologian with an interest in how culture and performance shape our ideas of what it is to be human. It strikes me that there is a fascinating parallel for this contemporary debate in the Greco-Roman obsession with theatricality and drama.........

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