As a parent and a Conservative I know that banning social media for under-16s is the right thing to do | Kemi Badenoch

"The Conservative party believes in freedom. We believe people should be able to make choices about their own lives. That they, not the state, should decide what they do. But freedom is not a given. It depends on something more fundamental: the ability to make good choices in the first place. And that ability is not fully formed in children."

"Children's brains are still developing. Their impulse control, emotional regulation and ability to assess risk are not the same as an adult's. That is why we have age limits on alcohol, a legal age of consent and safeguarding requirements in schools. To most people this is common sense. And yet, in one crucial area, we have decided to suspend that logic entirely. Children today are allowed to spend hours a day online, exposed to violence, pornography and extremist content."

"Content that we know is linked to rising anxiety, poor sleep, reduced concentration and knock-on effects on behaviour and education. Content designed not for children, but for adults, optimised to capture attention and maximise engagement. I am a firm believer that you can overcome a huge amount in life with the right knowledge and training. But by exposing children, at scale, to technologies that erode attention spans and disrupt learning, we are making that task harder."

The Conservative party asserts that freedom depends on the ability to make good choices, which children lack until their brains mature. Early childhood shapes lifelong trajectories, so prevention of harm in childhood is preferable to adult remediation. Children's developing impulse control, emotional regulation and risk assessment justify age limits and safeguarding. Widespread online exposure exposes children to violence, pornography and extremist content and correlates with anxiety, poor sleep, reduced concentration and educational harm. Technologies optimised to capture attention erode attention spans and disrupt learning. Conservatives propose banning smartphones in schools and supporting a social media ban for under-16s to protect development and parental authority.

Read at www.theguardian.com