O’Neill questions Starmer’s under-16 social media ban timing before Makerfield vote

“This will take it to the next stage though for broader society, having a social media restriction in place for our young people is the right thing to do because of the harm that it causes in so many areas around anxiety, mental health, depression, low self-esteem, eating disorders, many caused by young people getting access to this technology much too early, even before they are 10-years-old,” he said.

Mr Givan said he had spoken to Ben Carroll, deputy premier of Victoria, Australia, where a similar ban has been introduced, who he said had called the action “transformative” and having made a positive impact.

“There will be many parents across Northern Ireland who will be saying the Prime Minister is right – I am one of them,” he said.

“I know what it is like to have this constant battle about how often your phone is being used because I can see the harm that it causes to many of our young people, and therefore this will help parents, it will help protect our children so that we get the right approaches for our young people and we don’t rob them of their childhood because of the harmful nature of social media.”