Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Is the UK's social media ban for kids just reverse psychology?
The answer is no, but the effect is the same!
Title:
Small island nation tries bold tech education strategy
File under satire (actually, it's irony)
Ask any parent: banning kids from doing anything doesn't work. On the contrary, it's just about the most powerful way to motivate them.
As The Register reported last week, the UK government is planning on kicking under-16s off social media. The move echoes a similar one by the Australian government, which we reported at the end of 2025 – noting at the time that "nobody thinks it'll really work."
Perhaps, though, there's more to it than at first sight. Perhaps this is some sinister mandarin's long-term plan to improve digital literacy and technology awareness among British, and indeed Australian, youth, using a well-established form of mind control far more effective than the CIA's MK-ULTRA: reverse psychology.
snip
Given a certain type of teenager, we can think of no more powerful incentive to self-education than to tell them that a powerful adult somewhere doesn't want them to see something fun or potentially naughty. The direct result will be an urge to learn about geolocation, virtual private networks, identity verification, biometrics, and everything to do with accessing bits of the internet that they're not meant to.
As The Register reported last week, the UK government is planning on kicking under-16s off social media. The move echoes a similar one by the Australian government, which we reported at the end of 2025 – noting at the time that "nobody thinks it'll really work."
Perhaps, though, there's more to it than at first sight. Perhaps this is some sinister mandarin's long-term plan to improve digital literacy and technology awareness among British, and indeed Australian, youth, using a well-established form of mind control far more effective than the CIA's MK-ULTRA: reverse psychology.
snip
Given a certain type of teenager, we can think of no more powerful incentive to self-education than to tell them that a powerful adult somewhere doesn't want them to see something fun or potentially naughty. The direct result will be an urge to learn about geolocation, virtual private networks, identity verification, biometrics, and everything to do with accessing bits of the internet that they're not meant to.