The Bots & The Bees: Platform bans and parenting
Social media bans are gaining momentum, but laws and age limits can't replace open conversations about Cyber Safety. Norton’s 2026 Connected Kids Insights Report shows that the riskiest platforms for kids may not be social media sites at all, and children often manage to get around limitations anyway. See where parents’ concerns may miss the mark, and get digital safety tips that really help at home.
This is part of Norton’s Bots & The Bees series, built to help families update the conversations that used to be simpler, for a world where AI has changed what’s on the other side of the chat window. The full Norton Insights Report: Connected Kids* includes additional findings on platform-specific risk and family digital habits.
Australia’s under-16 social media ban has been in effect since December 2025, and an EU expert panel has recommended time-limited, supervised access for children under 13, according to reporting by The Guardian. Several countries, including the UK, France, and Denmark, have proposed bans of their own. But regardless of where legislation lands, parents with teens and pre-teens know the story is often more complicated on the ground.
The new Norton Insights Report: Connected Kids reveals a gap between the platform limits authorities set (be they parents or governments) and how kids actually behave online. Encouragingly, 86% of UK parents say they’re comfortable talking to their kids about online risks, and many already have some form of monitoring or restriction in place.
But many kids still find ways to bypass rules or encounter harmful content. Among UK parents surveyed:
- 39% of UK parents report their kids going online past a designated bedtime or curfew.
- 23% say their child had a social media account before reaching the platform’s minimum age requirement.
- 10% report their child watching explicit content.
- 18% report their child accessing a platform or website the parent believed was blocked.
- 9% report their child sharing private information with a stranger.
The findings suggest that conversations about online safety remain essential — but they work best when reinforced with practical tools, clear expectations, and ongoing parental involvement.
Parents' platform concerns vs where risks really lie
Our survey research shows that parents rank their platform worries fairly clearly, with social media dominating their concerns. In the UK, TikTok tops the list at 20%, with Snapchat second at 16% and Facebook third at 11%. Online gaming ranks fourth, with just 9% of parents naming it as their top concern for their child. Parents’ concerns largely mirror the focus of proposed legislation, which has centred on social media platforms.
However, our research suggests that some of the most direct risks can emerge in gaming chats. Just over half (53%) of UK parents say their child plays online games with a chat feature. Among those parents, 51% say their child has chatted with a stranger, and 24% say their child has received inappropriate or offensive messages.
Emerging areas of digital life like social media, online gaming, and AI literacy all deserve a plan. A blanket “no social media” rule can leave a blind spot for what’s happening elsewhere on the same device.
"When we faced the dangers of driving, we didn’t just set an age limit. We added seatbelts, speed limits, and better road design. The same logic applies here. An age limit changes who’s allowed on a platform. It doesn’t make the platform safer once a teen is on it, and it doesn’t replace open conversations at home. Parents sometimes treat a platform’s age minimum as a safety feature. But it’s only an eligibility rule. The safety part still has to come from settings, supervision, and conversation, whether the platform is technically allowed or legally banned."
— Leyla Bilge, Global Head of Scam Research at Norton
What parents can do, regardless of what the law says
Legislation can set broad boundaries, but parents still have to translate those rules into something workable for their own child. The strongest approach combines app-specific limits with built-in safety settings, regular check-ins, and rules that evolve as kids grow.
- Set platform-specific rules: “No social media” is hard to enforce. Deciding app by app, based on what a specific platform shows your kid, holds up better than a blanket ban.
- Explore built-in safety features: Most major platforms now offer teen accounts, family pairing, or supervised modes with default content and contact restrictions. They’re not a complete solution, but they’re free and already there.
- Revisit rules as your kid gets older: A setup that made sense for your 11-year-old might not fit when they’re 14. Treat platform access as something you adjust with time, not a decision made once.
- Keep the conversation running alongside the settings: Parental controls can reduce exposure to online risks, but determined kids may find ways around them. Regular, specific check-ins (“Did anything weird happen on your feed this week?”) can surface experiences that settings may miss.
Get insight into your child's online behaviour
Platform settings offer one layer of support for raising your kids in a digital world — Norton Family can add another. It helps parents understand how their children spend time online, manage screen time, and block unsuitable websites. That added context can make family rules easier to adjust and online-safety conversations more specific.
Methodology note
*The 2026 Connected Kids study was commissioned by Gen (the company behind Norton) and conducted online by Dynata across 12 markets from 22 May to 19 June 2026. It included 2,001 UK adults. Data is weighted by age, gender, and region to be nationally representative. Mentions of parents refer to parents of children under 18 years of age, accounting for 39% of adults surveyed across all markets. Data in this blog post refers to UK respondents only.
Editors’ note: Our articles offer educational information and are written to raise awareness about important topics in Cyber Safety. Norton products and services may not protect against every type of threat, fraud, or crime we write about. For more details about how we research, write, and review our articles, see our Editorial Policy.
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