WIREDGOV

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) recently (02 March) opened its consultation, Growing up in the online world: a national conversation, inviting views on children’s digital wellbeing, including proposals that could restrict under-16s’ access to social media. Responses are open until 26 May 2026.

The debate will be loud. The quieter question is the one that decides whether the consultation produces a credible picture of the country. Who can respond, and who is filtered out by the process itself.

For many families, being online does not mean being well connected. It means a single phone carrying work, schoolwork, appointments, and day-to-day life. It means topping up data, making trade-offs, and navigating systems that assume time and confidence. These households are present on social media, sometimes reluctantly, but they are less likely to complete a consultation platform and long supporting documents. If participation relies on that route alone, the voices closest to risk can be the easiest to miss.

That matters because the harms are not abstract. When digital and media literacy are low, social media can make opinion look like fact. Algorithmic feeds can reward what is provocative, not what is accurate. Young people can end up turning to what appears in their feed before they turn to official guidance, and sometimes before they turn to the adults around them.

Elizabeth Anderson, CEO, Digital Poverty Alliance, put it simply:

“The promised national conversation is vital in ensuring that parents and young people have their say, just as much as experts and lobbyists.”

The same principle applies beyond childhood. Misinformation and unsafe content do not stay contained across age groups. Accountability for platforms matters, and so does support for algorithmic literacy, including guidance people can use in everyday situations.

Our focus is the design of participation. Parents, caregivers, young people, and teachers with on-the-ground experience need a clear, accessible way to contribute. The Digital Poverty Alliance is calling on DSIT to provide a simplified process that works for families who are digitally under-connected but still using social media.