Young minds being 'exploited for profit'

Call for digital age of consent to be raised to 16

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THE UK's largest teaching union has said 'students are being robbed' of their wellbeing by social media, as it calls for the digital age of consent to rise from 13 to 16.

The National Education Union (NEU) and supporting organisations have launched Robbed: Big Tech's Little Victims, to call for guaranteed space on the school curriculum to teach digital literacy, a windfall tax on social media companies to pay for mental health services and for the Government to publish guidance on the health impacts of social media for children.

A poll conducted by Censuswide for the NEU of 2,001 people in the UK found nearly seven in 10 (69%) said they believe social media companies are robbing children and young people of their childhoods, and 68% said they think social media is making mental health problems in under-16s worse.

The campaign is calling for the digital age of consent to be raised to 16.