Social media news

• Smoking is cool again. How embarrassing

  07-08-2026 08:00 via inews.co.uk
  
  When I was a child I was led to believe that great diabolical temptation, “smoking”, would present itself to me, serpentine, hanging around a disused bike shed or down a ginnel on the way home from school.It would probably involve peer pressure, and how I responded to it would determine both the course of my future and my classification as either a good or bad person. It did not seem difficult to do. I had grown up in a world where smoking was bad: bad for your health, done by bad gi
  
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• I never imagined I’d have no social life in my 20s – but I’m fine with it

  10-08-2026 11:00 via inews.co.uk
  
  If you asked me a few years ago to picture how my twenties would look, I’d have imagined a diary full of after-work drinks, spontaneous weekends away and a group chat that never went quiet.The reality now, at the age of 24, is that I live three hours away from my closest friends and see them just once a year, some even less. And although this feels controversial to admit having such little face-time with friends, I am completely fine with it.After moving from Buckinghamshire to Cheshire, m
  
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• What Meta’s major child safety fine could mean for social media reforms

  07-08-2026 08:00 via inews.co.uk
  
  Meta has been ordered to pay a major $567m (£421m) fine to address harms to young people in the second part of a landmark case against the tech giant.A New Mexico court in the United States imposed the penalty on Thursday, local time, with Judge Bryan Biedscheid saying the bulk of the money would be directed to treatment services for children and teens.The case, which Meta lost in March, has already seen a jury levy $375m (£279m) in fines against the owner of Facebook, Instagram, Wha
  
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• What Meta’s £421m child safety fine could mean for social media reforms

  07-08-2026 08:00 via inews.co.uk
  
  Meta has been ordered to pay a major $567m (£421m) fine to address harms to young people in the second part of a landmark case against the tech giant.A New Mexico court in the United States imposed the penalty on Thursday, local time, with Judge Bryan Biedscheid saying the bulk of the money would be directed to treatment services for children and teens.The case, which Meta lost in March, has already seen a jury levy $375m (£279m) in fines against the owner of Facebook, Instagram, Wha
  
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• Putin is losing his battle with ‘Russia’s Zuckerberg’ – and being openly mocked

  05-08-2026 16:00 via inews.co.uk
  
  A day after being charged by Russian authorities with assisting terrorist activity and being placed on an international “wanted” list, the founder of the Telegram messaging app responded – with a meme.Pavel Durov, a 41-year-old tech billionaire sometimes dubbed “Russia’s Mark Zuckerberg”, showed little sign of concern over the case launched by the Federal Security Service (FSB) last week.Writing to his 11.3 million followers from his haven in Dubai, Durov said
  
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• How Steven Bartlett fooled the world

  27-07-2026 07:00 via inews.co.uk
  
  When George Orwell wrote 1984, he devised a language, Newspeak, in which a simplified and restricted version of English was introduced to diminish the intellectual and emotional range of the population. When I read words like “grindset”, “hustle” and “maxxing”, I experience the same cognitive shrinkage. These are terms designed to gloss over the complex interrelations of capitalism, and nobody has come to emblematise this kind of vapid corporate jargon quite l
  
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• Dua Lipa: the ‘magical thinker’ unwittingly making Britain’s young women miserable

  27-07-2026 07:00 via inews.co.uk
  
  Who broke Britain? Welcome to The i Paper’s opinion series in which experts and writers debate the issues that concern them about modern Britain.• You won’t know James Bevan, but you should know what he did to this country
  • Boris Johnson wrecked Britain. But this man left even deeper scars
  • The hardcore socialist whose ruinous idea is why Liz Truss became PM
  • Martin Lewis: the money-saving expert… who accidentally cost Brito
  
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• The worrying Japanese phenomenon of Hikikomori is emerging among our teens

  26-07-2026 18:00 via inews.co.uk
  
  There’s a term that strikes fear into Japanese parents: Hikikomori – when teenagers become so withdrawn that they don’t leave the house for months or even years.But perhaps it isn’t only a phenomenon in Japan: one in seven UK university students now show early signs of Hikikomori, according to a small survey.It could also be contributing to the growing number of British young people who are NEET – not in education, employment or training – said Dr Yoko Nagai,
  
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• Stormy Daniels: I’d rather be called a whore than a hypocrite

  24-07-2026 07:00 via inews.co.uk
  
  Welcome to Trump’s America, The i Paper’s World Insight series presenting the sharpest, deepest thinking on an era-defining shift in history and politics, investigating how Donald Trump and his administration have changed the US and the world – and where we go from here.• America can’t afford to retire
  • The US is becoming impossible to live in
  • The White House I worked for would have condemned this image. Trump refuses
  • Maga lead
  
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• How pop music works in 2026 – and why it’s about to drastically change

  21-07-2026 07:00 via inews.co.uk
  
  From The Beatles to Billie Eilish, punk to K-pop, teenagers have been shaping the music industry for as long as it’s existed. They are the first to jump on new trends, the first to worship artists and the first to create a whole network of theories and discussion around releases. But that might all be about to change with the new social media ban for under-16s.It’s not the first, fifth or even 15th thing that the British government might’ve thought of when they began to imagine
  
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• Katie Hopkins: the queen of the hate economy getting the last laugh on Britain

  13-07-2026 07:00 via inews.co.uk
  
  • You won’t know James Bevan, but you should know what he did to this country
  • Boris Johnson wrecked Britain. But this man left even deeper scars
  • The hardcore socialist whose ruinous idea is why Liz Truss became PM
  • Martin Lewis: the money-saving expert… who accidentally cost Britons billions
  • The American woman who ripped the heart out of Cadbury
  • The shadowy maverick who pulled Labour’s strings… and sun
  
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• Social media giants could be forced to boost BBC content – four things to know

  22-06-2026 07:00 via inews.co.uk
  
  The Government is reportedly considering forcing social media giants to push BBC content towards users.The proposals would reportedly require platforms like YouTube, Facebook and TikTok to give greater prominence to the BBC and other public service broadcasters in feeds, search results and algorithms.Here’s what the proposals might do and why the plan is already drawing criticism.Priority to BBC, ITV and Channel 4Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) sources told The Telegraph the
  
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• Children hired as ‘dispensable’ weapons by hostile states

  22-06-2026 07:00 via inews.co.uk
  
  Children are being used as “dispensable” weapons by organised criminals and hostile states paying for crimes including murder and arson, international law enforcement leaders have warned.In Britain, the head of the National Crime Agency (NCA) said that “younger and younger” children were being investigated as the perpetrators of serious crimes and that a 15-year-old boy had recently been arrested on suspicion of trying to import a gun.Several of the suspects arrested over
  
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• My trip to Makerfield convinced me I’ve got something very wrong

  17-06-2026 19:52 via inews.co.uk
  
  There is nothing like being right. Being so certain. Feeling the kind of self assurance that makes you walk taller and command a room with your thinking. That was where I was on Monday morning.Keir Starmer had delivered one of his most assured, most prime ministerial statements of his premiership – the long awaited, and indeed longed-for, ban on social media for the under-16s.It was time to give children back their childhoods, argued the PM. And to give parents a break from hammering them.
  
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• Emily Maitlis: My trip to Makerfield convinced me I’ve got something very wrong

  17-06-2026 19:52 via inews.co.uk
  
  There is nothing like being right. Being so certain. Feeling the kind of self assurance that makes you walk taller and command a room with your thinking. That was where I was on Monday morning.Keir Starmer had delivered one of his most assured, most prime ministerial statements of his premiership – the long awaited, and indeed longed-for, ban on social media for the under-16s.It was time to give children back their childhoods, argued the PM. And to give parents a break from hammering them.
  
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• Fake patriots have a new playbook – and it’s going to destroy the UK

  17-06-2026 08:00 via inews.co.uk
  
  There are two types of patriot: the kind who fetishise flags and the kind who prioritise people. In the UK, thanks to a toxic coalition of grifters, politicians and the richest man in the world, the first kind are currently enjoying a period of unprecedented dominance over the second.It took me years to fully understand what Samuel Johnson meant when he described patriotism as “the last refuge of a scoundrel”. As a child, a love for your country comes almost as naturally as a love of
  
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• The far right are promoting Restore – and undermining Nigel Farage

  16-06-2026 15:24 via inews.co.uk
  
  In online chat groups, white nationalists, neo-Nazis and far-right activists are fired up. Those normally indifferent or outright hostile to parliamentary politics are putting their hope in Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain.His online popularity has earned Lowe a vocal group of supporters from across Britain that means Restore is now seen as a genuine threat to Nigel Farage and Reform UK. In Makerfield, it could cost the party the by-election, some observers believe.But among Restore’s f
  
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• Trump and Musk have won their war on facts

  16-06-2026 11:30 via inews.co.uk
  
  When Donald Trump began his campaign for the American presidency a decade ago, he instantly made it his mission to undermine faith in the established news media – and he has succeeded.Before he even entered the White House, Trump blacklisted a host of news outlets. When faced with challenging questions he claimed a female journalist was menstruating and cruelly mimicked a New York Times reporter with a disability. Ever since, he has decried professional journalism as “fake news&rdquo
  
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• All the unanswered questions as Starmer bans under-16s from social media

  15-06-2026 13:30 via inews.co.uk
  
  Keir Starmer has announced that under-16s will be banned from major social media platforms, including TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat, as early as next year.Setting out the plans, the Prime Minister said he was “not prepared to compromise on the safety and happiness of our children”.He admitted that bringing in the ban “won’t be easy”, but insisted that the UK has to “resist that kind of learned helplessness” and work hard to find an effective model.The b
  
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• Nine in 10 of my students have been sent a d**k pic – it’s horrifying

  15-06-2026 13:00 via inews.co.uk
  
  Sir Keir Starmer has announced a full social media ban for children under 16. He is following Australia by introducing minimum age restrictions on sites including TikTok, Instagram, Threads, YouTube, Facebook and Snapchat, which will come into force next year. He is also planning “world-leading action on gaming services”, and is expected to announce restrictions for older teenagers that prevent late-night scrolling. Here, an experienced teacher tells India Sturgis how technology has
  
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• Phone curfew for under-18s and no TikTok: How UK social media ban will work

  14-06-2026 23:30 via inews.co.uk
  
  Sir Keir Starmer is expected to announce that the Government is pushing forward with a ban on social media for under-16s.The UK is expected to go further than a similar ban in Australia, with measures to stop teenagers using certain platforms, as well as curbing the daily usage for 16 and 17-year-olds.While some details of the policy remain unclear, here’s what to expect from Starmer’s plan which will be announced on Monday.
  Ban on social media sitesThe UK will follow Australia in ba
  
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• My six year old got addicted to YouTube. Here’s what I wish I’d known

  13-06-2026 11:00 via inews.co.uk
  
  Keir Starmer is expected to announce a ban on social media for under-16s within the next 10 days, following Australia’s lead. This isn’t surprising given the research that shows just how harmful TikTok and Instagram are to kids. But why aren’t we also talking about YouTube?YouTube is apparently used by 67 per cent of children in the UK, and out of secondary school children who have come across harmful content, 53 per cent encountered it on TikTok and 36 per cent on YouTube.YouT
  
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• Elon Musk may be a trillionaire – but he is still a tragic loser

  12-06-2026 12:23 via inews.co.uk
  
  What did you do in the days before your life’s biggest triumph? Perhaps it was getting married, selling a business, landing a long-wanted job, or watching years of effort come together into the thing you had always hoped it might become.Perhaps you went out for a nice meal, or sat nervously thrumming your fingers on the table, too nervous with excitement to think about anything else.Elon Musk is about to shepherd his newly-merged conglomerate, SpaceX, on to the stock market in the biggest
  
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• MJF Vs Darby Allin - TITLE Vs HAIR! | AEW Double Or Nothing 2026 (m4iX62Jcw1) - Fathom Journal

  05-06-2026 23:42 via news.google.com
  MJF Vs Darby Allin - TITLE Vs HAIR! | AEW Double Or Nothing 2026 (m4iX62Jcw1)  Fathom Journal
  
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• How America’s conspiracy theorists broke the US

  02-06-2026 07:00 via inews.co.uk
  
  Welcome to Trump’s America, The i Paper’s World Insight series presenting the sharpest, deepest thinking on an era-defining shift in history and politics, investigating how Donald Trump and his administration have changed the US and the world – and where we go from here.On 25 April this year, 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen was stopped by Secret Service agents while trying to rush into the White House correspondents’ dinner with a gun. He was apprehended on the scene and lat
  
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• Nine in 10 parents back a social media ban – but could Britain make it work?

  31-05-2026 07:37 via inews.co.uk
  
  Most parents are so concerned about children’s social media use that they back Australian‑style restrictions for under‑16s, according to more than 80,000 responses to a UK government consultation.Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said a ban was “definitely on the table” after the survey found nine in 10 parents backed restrictions and were “crying out for help and support”, she told the Sunday Mirror.This reflects a global movement to protect children, am
  
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• Proper financial advice risks being killed off – it could cost you money

  31-05-2026 06:00 via inews.co.uk
  
  More people are using social media and AI to get financial information.Research from Queen Mary University of London found two fifths of 4,500 adults surveyed across the UK saying they’d used social media as a source of financial guidance, while polling by investments provider OneFamily suggests 2.6 million young adults (under 30) have used AI tools to help make decisions about their finances.At the same time, the traditional financial advice industry is showing signs of declining –
  
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• Our dying local pub went viral – it helped us raise £100,000 to save it

  29-05-2026 08:00 via inews.co.uk
  
  As far as crowdfunding campaigns go, Sarah de Warren’s innovative short video that aimed to raise funds to reopen The Elm Tree pub in the pretty Dorset village of Langton Herring had noble intentions. The 17th-century hostelry boasts an impressive history, including being a secret rendezvous for Russian spies during the Cold War, and the home of the invention of the bouncing bomb. But for de Warren, who grew up in the village, it was simply an integral part of this small community that was
  
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• Cabinet ministers feared Trump’s reaction to social media ban

  26-05-2026 19:09 via inews.co.uk
  
  Cabinet ministers feared introducing a ban on social media for the under-16s in case it upset Donald Trump, The i Paper understands.A number of Sir Keir Starmer’s ministers originally resisted calls for an Australia-style age limit to avoid clashing with the US administration’s full-throated support for big tech, just as the Prime Minister was trying to forge close relations with the US President.But others, including Technology Secretary Liz Kendall and former health secretary Wes S
  
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• The country where a social media ban is already failing – and what parents can do

  26-05-2026 17:39 via inews.co.uk
  
  The world has been watching since December, when Australia became the first nation to ban social media for under-16s.But months after children were blocked from all major platforms, evidence shows tech companies have not done enough to implement the restrictions, with many young people finding ways of circumventing them.Research by the UK-based online safety charity, the Molly Rose Foundation, found more than 60 per cent of Australian children are still using social media, while virtual private
  
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