Tag: social media ban

What will be the most heartbreaking day of the summer? Last year, it was July 20 – the day that Childline received the most contacts from children and young people who were experiencing abuse, neglect and isolation during what is supposed to be the best days of their lives. 

Unfortunately, the summer of 2026 is already shaping up to be a difficult one for many children and young people. The Childline team already has experienced a noticeable spike in contacts related to suicide last week.

The longer days and the break from the routine of school life means that children face an increased risk of isolation, exposure to danger online, abuse and neglect. 

Many of these children dread the summer and count the days to go back to school. There, they can be themselves without fearing the consequences and teachers are available to give them the support that they need.

Take Eabha* who experiences food poverty, social isolation and abuse from her mother who drinks to numb her own pain and takes out her frustrations on her daughter. Eabha will spend the long, lonely summer holidays looking after her young siblings, lying to her friends to explain why she can’t meet them and doing everything she possibly can to ensure that her mother doesn’t lose her temper.

Sam* told a Childline volunteer about how his emotionally abusive family make him feel unloved and unable to express himself for fear of being taunted and bullied. He says that he hates being at home.

For Lily*, a carer for her critically ill parent, school offers a break from the constant pressure she experiences at home. She doesn’t want her friends to pity her so she shares little about what her life is really like.  

Elizabeth Donlon Fox, National Childline Listening Coordinator, says that our dedicated team of staff and volunteers hear similar stories on a daily basis: “When we think of summer, we think of endless, carefree days, but for so many children and young people, it’s a time of isolation, fear and neglect. It is truly shocking what so many young people have to endure and the lasting consequence of this trauma on their lives.”

For so many children, summer is a time of heartbreak, not happiness, but Childline is here to support them 24/7. To support Childline in this crucial work, please donate now.

ISPCC offers support to children and young people at childline.ie and at 1 800 66 66 66. 

• *Names have been changed

As yet another politician extols the merits of banning social media for those under 16 in the name of online safety, many of us working in children’s rights find ourselves dismayed by the persistence of such quick-fix, headline-grabbing proposals. These measures, while superficially appealing, shift responsibility onto parents and children, rather than addressing the role of the technology companies whose platforms underpin much of the harm. 

On Sunday, June 14th, more than 140 children’s rights organisations across Europe, including the ISPCC, co-signed an evidence-based letter to the European Commission making clear that it is neither fair nor effective to require children to bear the cost of rectifying problems that are fundamentally embedded in the design and business models of online services. 

A blanket ban risks entrenching harm by diverting attention away from where meaningful accountability should lie. Instead, we should be insisting on a strict “safety by design” standard, supported by privacy-preserving and robust age assurance mechanisms. This approach places responsibility on platforms to create safer environments from the outset. 

Efforts to improve online safety must not come at the expense of children’s rights — including their rights to information, education, participation and play. A crude age-based prohibition would not only fail to eliminate harm but would likely displace it, pushing young people towards less regulated or entirely unregulated spaces where risks may be even greater. 

Furthermore, such bans risk diminishing the urgency to address the systemic issues that drive harm online. These include behavioural profiling, addictive and manipulative design features, recommender systems that amplify harmful content and commercial practices that exploit children’s data and vulnerabilities.  

A more constructive response must recognise that responsibility is shared. Parents, platforms and young people all have a role to play.  

Many of the risks children face online stem from the design of the platform. Features that prioritise engagement over wellbeing can expose young users to manipulation, exploitation and grooming — often in ways that are difficult to detect. Children who do not recognise such harms are unlikely to report them. 

It is essential that young people learn to question what they see online, to understand how algorithms shape their experience and to trust their instincts when something feels wrong. The impact of harmful online content inevitably spills into children’s offline lives, affecting their wellbeing. 

At the ISPCC, our priority is to empower young people with the resilience and coping skills they need to thrive in an increasingly complex digital world.  

Our Childline Listening Service operates 24 hours a day, every day of the year, ensuring that any young person who needs to talk will always find someone ready to listen.