Youth Voices: Ishan on Social Media, Youth Voice and the Case Against a Ban

As we continue our Youth Voices series on the proposed UK social media ban for under-16s, our National Head of Learning – Rory Dickinson – spoke to Ishan (pictured below), an 18-year-old Youth Pioneer from South West London who is preparing to study International Relations at university.

Ishan reflects on the role social media has played in shaping his political outlook, learning and connections with others. He questions whether a ban tackles the real problem, argues that tech companies need to take greater responsibility for harmful content, and makes the case for young people themselves to have a voice in decisions that will directly affect their lives.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? 

I’m Ishan. I grew up in South West London, I’ve just finished my A levels, and I’m going to Uni to study International Relations. I’m passionate about Youth Voice, and I work for Rekindle as a Youth Pioneer.

How would you describe your relationship with social media? Which apps did you use most growing up? And how did you use them? 

It’s been something I’ve grown up with. Social media has been there since I was born. I use Snapchat to keep in contact with my friends and share my own life. On TikTok, I post my own ideas about the world & politics, but I also use it to find out other information as
well.

I’d say my relationship is a bit of a mix; it has helped me learn a lot and develop my own political outlook, but at the same time you do see some horrible things.

Would you say Social Media has had a positive or negative impact on your life? 

I’d say positive overall, as it has helped me both develop and my own thoughts on the world. It’s given me a platform to speak out. Through social media, I’m able to post content around what interests me. It’s then allowed me create a community with other people who share a similar thoughts and opinions.

The government is planning a total social media ban for under-16s by spring 2027. When you first heard that, what was your honest, immediate reaction? 

That they are giving up on the problem rather than fixing it. The problem isn’t social media itself; it’s how they regulate it. If it was regulated properly, then the harmful material wouldn’t reach young people.

But they also aren’t considering why young people are spending so much time on social media. They should be spending more time investing in youth clubs, community spaces and youth activities. If more money was put into these spaces, young people would spend less time on social media.

I feel like the negative consequences of the ban could be huge. We might see significant negative social consequences, as a lot of young people really rely on it and are really angry about it. So it could cause more division.

Do you think politicians have an accurate understanding of the way young people use social media? 

I don’t think all of them do. But Andy Burnham does seem to use it in a similar way that we do. Keir Starmer felt more old-fashioned, and I can’t imagine him using it.

Largely, young people use Social Media sites like YouTube to learn how to do things, how to cook, play the guitar and how to create their own content.

There is also a huge educational side to social media. There are a lot of online tutors that will go through exam papers with you. I’ve used that for both my A levels and gcse’s.

What about the tech companies who create the apps that you use- how much responsibility do they have? 

They are the main culprits because they aren’t regulating the apps properly. They are the ones that set the rules and algorithms. I’m sure they could remove hateful content quite easily. I feel like it is all to do with making profits, and this fuels the right-wing hateful
content.

Have you ever used social media to learn about a cause, share an issue, or support something you care about? 

Yeah, I have. I use social media to research climate change and other issues in the world. There are a lot of news companies on social media that make issues easy to access. They break it down in bite-sized chunks that make it easy to understand. This has helped me, and other people, understand difficult and complex topics that normally would feel out of reach.

If you could sit down with the Prime Minister for two minutes, what’s the one thing you’d want him to understand about what social media means to a teenager today? 

That we should have our voices heard before they make such big decisions. They haven’t sat down with young people and asked how the social media ban will affect us. They need to consult us, as it will massively affect our lives.

To explore the wider context behind this conversation, read Rory’s article, What Could a Social Media Ban Mean for Youth Activism?, examining the proposed under-16 social media ban and its potential impact on young people.