‘Without social media our son Josh Hall might still be alive’

Joshua‘s parents believe social media can influence behaviour and escalate conflicts in the real world.

They have welcomed proposals to introduce restrictions on social media use for under‑16s.

Other families have raised similar concerns, including Cheltenham mother Ellen Roome, whose son Jools died in what she believes was an online challenge gone wrong.

Experts have said the relationship between social media and violence is complex, but concerns about its impact on young people are growing.

Hannah Swirsky, head of policy and public affairs at the Internet Watch Foundation, said: “The point to really highlight is that we need age appropriate experiences and a safer internet, no single piece of legislation is going to turn the tide.

“It’s clear that there are a number of harms associated with a lack of safeguards on platforms and I would say it’s really important that there are interventions at every stage of the harm pathway.

“It’s right that effort is being put into this, I think it’s a question of ‘what are all the different things that need to happen’.”

Swirsky believes that one area that the new legislation fails to tackle is restrictions on messaging platforms.

“We see a lot of incidents of harm going on in end-to-end encrypted environments,” she said.