Growing up in the online world: CPRMB Response Summary

Following the Government’s consultation on a social media ban for under 16 year-olds in England, the Centre for Policy Research on Men and Boys agreed on such a ban. CPRMB also agreed with a ban on mobile phones in school.

(1) Growing and clear risks for young men and boys because they ARE men and boys

Over the past five years and underpinned by the Online Safety Act (2023), there is growing awareness of the full range of online harms affecting the lives of young men and boys because they ARE young men and boys.

In addition, there is also a growing awareness of how these harms are rapidly evolving, who is creating and pushing this harmful content to them and also on the impact these online harms have on others -including women and girls.

There are many similar harms that impact women and girls, but specific ones that tend to be targeted at boys include:

1)  Online Harm content regularity: Boys aged 11-17 saw on average 4.28 of 9 types of different online harms in the past 4 weeks (3.9 for girls) – Source: Ofcom Children’s Online Experiences (2025)

2)  Misinformation (41% vs 37%), scams or fraud (36%vs 31%) and hateful content (27% vs 24%). Source: Ofcom State of Nation Report (2024)

3) Intimate Image Abuse: 25% of boys have had explicit or intimate images or videos shared online which were shared by a partner (10% girls) – Source: Youth Endowment Fund (2024).

4) Sextortion: 91% of sextortion victims are male - Source: Internet Watch Foundation (2024)

5) Gambling: 53% of 11–17-year-old boys (31% of girls) see gambling adverts online every week – Source: Gambling Commission (2025)

6) Cryptocurrencies: 8% of 13-to 16-year-olds own cryptocurrencies – about 70% of crypto owners are male so this is more likely to affect them. Many organisations working with teenage boys report this is becoming more of an issue – Source: Financial Conduct Authority (2024)  

7) Pornography: 19% of boys aged 13-14 access porn services every month (11% girls) – Source: Ofcom announce new controls (2025)

8) Physical Violence: 70% of teenage boys (13-17)see violent content online and 36% have seen zombie knives – Source: Youth Endowment Fund

9)  Extremism: The most common groups accessing extremist material including online are young men and boys. Men make up 90% of Prevent referrals and 54% of Prevent referrals are for those aged under 17 and under – Source: UK Government

10)  Suicide/Self-Harm: 12% of boys aged (11-17) had seen content on suicide and self/harm in the previous four weeks (13% girls) – Source: Ofcom Children’s Online Experiences (2025). 149 teenage boys (15-19) died by suicide in England and Wales in 2024 (66 young women) and the suicide rate has increased in the last ten years - Source: Office for National Statistics  

11)  Body image: 26% of boys said that images on social media have caused them to worry about their body image - Source: Mental Health Foundation. Looksmaxxing inyoung men was recently covered by the BBC and Australian research has linked social media to an increase in male steroid use.

12)  Influencers: Movember research showed that in the UK 61% of young men regularly watch men and masculinity influencers and thosewho actively engage are more likely to exhibit more concerning behaviours and experiences, such as risk, depression, feel men should be the bosses and women are keeping men down  Source: Movember.

(2) Tech companies are not taking action

It is clear therefore that there is a range of general and specific online harms that boys are accessing and are being promoted to them.

However, the tech platforms continue to fail to address them even when the harms are known and the public are concerned. Age 16 continues to be recognised in the UK as the age where young people can start to gain responsibilities because their maturity aligns to being able to self-manage those responsibilities.

Given the level of risk and harm caused by social media, and the need for an understanding on what that harm is and its impact, until 16, children are not mature enough to navigate that territory.

In addition ,the tech platforms cannot be trusted to manage that risk and harm on children’s behalf and are in fact, playing and enabling role through inadequate controls and monitoring, and wilfully allowing content to be promoted to children.

(3) How a ban can improve the lives of young men and boys

We also see that such a ban would have positive impacts such as improving the lives of children from improving real-life connection, mental and physical health, their ability to learn themselves (not by learning through answers given to them via AI), to critically think, engage in civic society (clubs and groups) and to getaway from their screens. To be ‘outside’ not always ‘inside’.

It would have a positive impact on boys because it would restrict the amount of time they are online so that time can be better spent offline. It would also make them less susceptible to online harms and it would improve their social connectivity and reducing loneliness. Overall, it would improve their physical/mental health, their critical thinking, and confidence. It would also reduce harm.  

The benefits to their overall wellbeing far exceed any other impacts; and risks to increasing business costs and revenue – which does not benefit the boys being harmed.

(4) Ofcom guidance still needed

The Centre for Policy Research on Men and Boys believes the Government should compel Ofcom to produce guidance for tech companies on online harms affecting men and boys (“A safer life online for men and boys”) in the same way it has produced guidance ((“A safer life online for women and girls). So far, despite requests from charities and Labour Party Parliamentarians, it has point blank refused to do without producing a coherent argument for taking this position.

Young men and boys are on the one hand are exposed to similar types of online harmful content to women and girls. But there are also clear differences in the types too. And even when there are similar types - the impact, framing and the actual content is likely to be different. These risks harming men and boys are much more known now than when the Online Safety Act was introduced.

Centre for Policy Research on Men and Boys

May 2026

‍