Will there be a 'social media curfew' for children - and what could it mean for parents?

• TikTok is introducing new features to help young users wind down at night
• The UK’s technology secretary says he’ll be watching closely
• Almost all 12-year-olds in England have a smart phone, and many show signs of behavioural addiction
• Sleep deprivation is just one of the reported impacts of too much screen time

The Government may be considering a ‘social media curfew’ for young people - to help prevent some of the more serious effects of too much screen time.

Video sharing giant TikTok has recently announced plans to introduce a ‘wind down’ feature, which will discourage under-16s from using the app after 10pm. It will also be bringing in stricter parental controls, including the ability to set customisable daily screen time limits, and a new ‘time away’ feature to give their child a break from the app - such as if the family is taking a weekend trip.

The UK’s technology secretary has taken a keen interest in the changes, as a potential next step. Ofcom - the Government’s communications regulator - last week finalised a host of child safety measures for websites and apps, which could see them face serious fines or potentially even operating bans in the UK if they don’t carry out effective age checks and prevent young users from seeing harmful content.

But what has the Government actually said about introducing a social media curfew for young people, and what could it mean for parents? Here’s what we know so far:

Will there be a ‘social media curfew’?

Although you might have seen mention of it, there is not currently a formal social media curfew for young people planned or set out in any official rules as of yet. But technology secretary, Peter Kyle, recently told the Telegraph that he would be watching the impact of TikTok’s 10pm curfew “very carefully”.

“I’m not going to act on something that will have a profound impact on every single child in the country without making sure that the evidence supports it, but I am investing in [researching] the evidence,” he said.

Mr Kyle also confirmed that he was considering the “next steps” after last week’s Ofcom rule changes for tech companies, which could see them hit with substantial fines for not adequately protecting young users from being exposed to harmful content.

“It is clear that some of the addictive nature of some of the products is causing anxiety and frustration to young people themselves,” he continued. “I believe there is evidence that young people feel angry with themselves about some of the time that slips through their fingers when they start doom-scrolling.”

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What could it mean for parents?

Almost all children in England have their own phone by the age of 12, and a 2024 report published by Parliament’s Education Select Committee found that young people’s screen time has shot up a whopping 52% between 2020 and 2022. One in four children with a smartphone used it in a way that was consistent with behavioural addiction.

This can have all sorts of impacts, ranging from disrupted sleep, to distracting children from learning, to exposing them to harmful material. If a Government-mandated social media curfew for young people was eventually rolled out across popular apps and platforms, this could give parents much more control around where and when their children used them - helping to mitigate some of these potential pitfalls.

For example, children who use their phones in bed may get caught up in ‘doom-scrolling’, causing them to stay up much later even if they need to get up early for school or other activities the next day. This can potentially lead to sleep deprivation over time.

Children may also be tempted to use their phones to browse social media in class, or may get distracted by notifications. Teaching union NASUWT told the committee that children took up to 20 minutes to refocus on learning after browsing the internet or noticing a notification during class.

But with a so-called curfew or even stricter parental controls in place - some of which may already be available depending on the app, or using third-party apps like Parent Geenee - parents will be able to prevent this, with little extra monitoring or effort.

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