What Mumsnet Is Demanding

Mumsnet is calling for a ban on social media for under-16s and is urging parents to put pressure on the Government for lasting policy change. The campaign frames the proposal as a child-protection measure and argues that families need systemic support because the current environment makes it extremely difficult to keep children safe online.

The Big Idea Behind the Advertising

Created with adam&eve\TBWA, the national work runs across billboards and social media and is intentionally uncompromising. It uses provocative, sourced imagery alongside stark statistics to create the emotional impact of a public-health warning. The strategy is designed to cut through noise and make the issue feel immediate rather than theoretical.

What the Research Says Parents Are Seeing

Mumsnet positions the campaign on top of its own research into parental concern about youth screen time. It reports that most parents on the platform are worried about social media’s impact on children’s mental health and wellbeing, that many believe their child is addicted to their phone or social media, and that large numbers describe daily usage that extends into multiple hours. The takeaway is that this is not a niche issue, but something parents are encountering at scale across everyday family life.

The Harms the Campaign Highlights

The campaign links heavy phone use and addictive social media behaviour to serious risks including anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicidal ideation. It also focuses on the pattern parents say they are living with in real time: compulsive use, reduced sleep, escalating worry, and collapsing self-esteem. The central claim is that these harms are not simply the result of weak boundaries at home, but of products deliberately designed to be addictive, which makes the usual advice of “just set limits” feel unrealistic for many households.

Why This Is Turning Into a Political Issue

Mumsnet argues that the idea this can be solved with better parenting alone is a convenient myth because you cannot out-parent a business model built on addiction. The campaign highlights strong public appetite for intervention, including parents who support an under-16 ban and who say they would be more likely to vote for a political party that committed to implementing one. It also reflects wider global momentum as more governments, schools and health sectors push for urgent action to protect children from addictive technology, and it connects this advertising push to Mumsnet’s broader Rage Against the Screen movement, which combines parental support, practical tools and policy campaigning to turn concern into meaningful change.