The Educator Magazine U.K. Sept-Dec 2026 issue - Magazine - Page 52
How educators can
prepare ahead of
the social media ban
Dr John Allan, Head of Impact and Breakthrough Learning, PGL Beyond
While the details of the UK government’s
social media ban for under-16s have not
yet been finalised, educators will already
be considering how best to prepare young
people.
With a Spring 2027 implementation date
looming, the proposed approach looks to
follow elements of the Australian model
including prohibiting social media
companies from providing services to
under-16s, and preventing young people
from accessing ‘harmful functions’ on
online services.
While restriction is the main topic of
conversation, discussions must not end
here. For educators and parents alike, the
bigger question is what will take its place.
If young people are to spend less time on
social media, they need compelling
alternatives that offer something more
active, meaningful and rewarding.
For schools, that creates an opportunity
to think more broadly about the holistic,
real-world experiences and skills young
people need to develop greater
independence beyond the screen and
help them navigate the challenges of 21st
century life.
From observation to active participation
While social media can support information
sharing and expose young people to new
ideas, much of that engagement remains
observational. Here, the learner is often
consuming the experiences of others, rather
than actively shaping their own.
Experiential learning offers a different
process of authentic engagement. For
example, direct immersion in nature-based
learning, multi-sensory engagement,
reflection, and collaborative
problem-solving places young people at
the centre of the experience. This provides
opportunities to make purposeful
decisions, respond to the unexpected,
and learn through the direct consequences
of their actions. When young people solve a
challenge with their peers, or respond to an
unfamiliar situation, there is no option
to simply scroll past. Instead, they are
expected to question, communicate first
hand, make choices, and adapt their
approach based on what happens next.
For educators, enabling more of these
opportunities provide an important
counterbalance to passive online
engagement. It shifts pupils from
observing to owning experiences and
immediately reflecting on what they
have learned from them.
How outdoor learning can help
Outdoor experiential learning is
particularly valuable because it introduces
young people to experiences that cannot
always be neatly controlled or predicted.
Changing environments, physical
challenges and interpersonal interactions
create opportunities to test boundaries,
manage risk and become more comfortable
with uncertainty in a supported setting.
Unstructured play, for instance, allows
children to experience manageable
setbacks, negotiate with others, solve
problems, and regulate their emotions.
These everyday experiences provide natural
opportunities to build resilience, develop
empathy and problem-solving skills, which
children need to cope with uncertainty and
adversity now and later in life.
Outdoor activities allow young people to
experience risk differently. Through
effective facilitation, risks are perceived,
understood and supported, therefore
young people develop the confidence to
stretch themselves without removing
challenge altogether. Over time, these
experiences can help strengthen an internal
locus of control (an understanding that our
own decisions can influence what happens
next), which underpins confidence,
resilience and self-determination.
As the social media ban takes shape, this
is particularly important. If young people
are to spend less time in online spaces, we
should also be thinking about the type of
healthy real-world experiences that develop
the skills they need to succeed in education,
the workplace and beyond.
Preparing for future learning and work
A common concern around restricting
social media is whether young people
will be left without the online, technical
skills they need to succeed in education
andemployment. Young people
undoubtedly need strong digital skills,
and schools should continue to develop
digital literacy and the use of AI.
However, digital readiness is not the same
as social media use. Digital education
should sit alongside opportunities for
them to embody vocational real-world
experiences such as work experience,
travel, volunteering and citizenship.
For example, critical thinking is
strengthened when young people have
to assess fluctuating situations and decide
on appropriate options. Creativity is tested
when the obvious solution does not work.
Resilience is practiced when they have
to adapt their plans and try again.
Collaboration becomes tangible when
success depends on communicating and
working effectively with others on shared
goals or tasks.
Preparing pupils for the future should
therefore not mean choosing between
digital and experiential learning.
They are not mutually exclusive and can
work together. Young people who are
technologically capable also need to think
critically, solve unfolding problems and
respond confidently when there is no
screen to rapidly, and without much effort,
deliver the answer.
Getting the balance right
Overall, the social media ban should not
reject digital technology and the benefits
it can provide. Rather, the coming changes
offer schools an opportunity to reconsider
the balance between young people’s digital
and real-world experiences.
For educators, preparation can start by
looking at how more immersive experience
can be brought into the school curriculum
through dedicated enrichment time and
beyond the classroom learning. Alongside
purposeful digital education, a renewed
focus on experiences that offer greater
intrinsic value than the instant gratification
screens can provide will go a long way.
