UNITED KINGDOM — Former Labour adviser Peter Hyman launched a report calling on United Kingdom ministers to ban social media for under-16s and overhaul the education system to address rising numbers of young people not in education, employment or training. The report, Inside the Mind of a Young Neet, argues that schools have become a "pipeline" to worklessness for a large cohort of young people in the UK.
The number of young people in the UK who are NEET has risen sharply to almost one million, the highest level in more than a decade. The UK has the third-highest NEET rate among Europe's richest countries. The rate for 16- to 24-year-olds peaked at 16.8% in 2012 during a period of elevated unemployment following the banking crash, then declined before rising again to 12.8% during a difficult jobs market and increasing mental health challenges.
The report, co-authored by Hyman and researcher Shuab Gamote, draws on conversations with more than 400 young people across the UK. It states that Britain's workless youth faces a combination of challenges including poverty, Covid, loneliness, social media addiction and economic shock. It calls on ministers to overhaul a system that traps young people in a "rejection economy" where they were being failed by the education system, employers and social media companies.
Hyman said close to one million young people were wrongly labeled "snowflakes" instead of being failed by the government and the state. He said the education system focused too heavily on passing exams and often failed to address bullying and mental health problems, leaving many young people without qualifications or clear pathways to training or work. The report also argues the UK must stop blaming young people for a system that has let them down.
"I was shocked by the level of vitriol and hatred these young people used when talking about school," he said. The report found that some young people had spent years doing nothing and described them as the "bedroom generation," victims of "a taught and learned helplessness that our system encourages." It also said young people often felt unable to gain the experience required for entry-level jobs and wanted vocational options signposted, more work experience and more flexibility from employers.
The government is carrying out a consultation into a ban on social media for children. "From our conversations with young people it's clear the government needs to ban social media for the under-16s," Hyman said. "The young people we've spoken to crave more social connection and places to go," he added. He also said ministers needed to provide youth hubs and opportunities for young people to connect in real life and learn new skills. "It's no good saying 'get off your phone and do something' if they don't have anything to do nearby," he said.