COULD YOU DITCH SOCIAL MEDIA?

Ban social media for under-16s In support of our Young Minds Offline! campaign, Clare O'Reilly, 45, and her kids took on a challenge

- CLARE O'REILLY

In support of our Young Minds Offline! campaign, Clare O'Reilly, 45, and her kids took on a challenge

At the start of this year there were 54.8 million people in the UK on social media. That's 79% of the UK population. Apparently we use it for an average of an hour and 37 minutes a day. Gulp! My two kids' phone usage exceeds around seven hours a day – much of that spent on social networks. Sammy, 16, thinks nothing of scrolling TikTok and Snapchatting to his mates until the wee small hours.

Annie, 14, is a 'gram scroller and her snaps from friends usually start pinging around 6.30am when she wakes up for school. I'm aware of how toxic social media can be for children. Cyber bullying is such a worry and then there's the unrealistic lifestyles portrayed by influencers that puts pressure on our kids, too. Which is why, when I read about the Woman's Own pledge to ban social media in under-16s as part of their Young Minds Offline! campaign, I was all for it. But I'm as guilty as the next mum of doomscrolling. So my suggestion of a social media blackout for the three of us for a whole seven days is only accepted with a financial bribe. The kids enter into the challenge sceptically with reluctance, but how will we all cope without social media for a whole week?

DAY ONE