UK urged to curb children’s addiction to social-media ‘dopamine loops’

A leading online safety campaigner has urged the UK government to “detoxify” addictive social‑media platforms that hook children into endless “dopamine loops”. Baroness Beeban Kidron, a crossbench peer, argued it is not a nanny state to prevent companies from investing billions in features designed to keep young users scrolling. She said politicians have a moral duty to shield under‑18s from business models that exploit children’s attention.

Kidron coined the phrase “dopamine loops” to describe the way algorithms reward frequent engagement with brief bursts of pleasure, conditioning young people to stay on apps for longer. She wants the Online Safety Act and forthcoming codes of practice on disinformation and safety to address the design features that encourage compulsive use and amplify harmful content. Regulators must ensure transparency over recommendation systems and give parents real tools to limit exposure.

Kidron also pressed the new technology secretary, Peter Kyle, to move faster than his predecessors and publish detailed guidance for tech firms as soon as possible. Without clear rules and enforcement, she warned, platforms will continue to put profit before child protection. For more details, see the Guardian’s coverage and the BBC’s technology coverage.

Source: Technology | The Guardian