Our thinking

Learning to swim in the digital ocean

2 May, 2025

The narrative power and political impact of the Netflix show Adolescence has catapulted digital wellbeing back up the agenda. Last week Ofcom released new rules to try and keep children safe online, but is it enough?  

Digital wellbeing is about the way we use digital technology and the way it impacts our lives and relationships. It’s everything from screentime to online bullying to the dopamine hit that social media apps are designed to deliver. We should all be concerned about it, but it is particularly important for children. 

Last week, Ofcom released new rules as part of the Online Safety Act requiring social media companies operating in the UK to put in place more effective age checks to identify under 18s using social media, actively filter potentially harmful content away from these young audiences and improve processes for flagging and removing such content. Non-compliance after July this year could trigger fines of up to 10% of global revenue and even prison for executives who oversee repeated breaches. While this is an important step in the right direction, some, including the government’s children’s commissioner, have suggested they don’t go far enough. 

Children growing up in the social media age face significant digital wellbeing concerns. Research from Internet Matters suggests that children’s experience of the internet is one of growing extremes: ever greater benefits but with a growing propensity to harm, particularly for the most vulnerable children. In an illuminating Internet Matters panel event last week, contributors pointed out that we have found ways to manage real-world dangers like the ocean: encourage swimming lessons, use lifeguards, and provide guidance on safe places to swim. We need a continued evolution of our understanding of digital wellbeing to do the same for the virtual world. 

By Ben Wood