Thousands of letters have been sent to South Yorkshire MPs as part of a campaign to limit children’s ability to access social media.

The mass letter campaign has been organised by Smartphone Free Childhood, a grassroots movement hoping to see legislation that will make social media only accessible to those over the age of 16.

In just 36 hours, parents across South Yorkshire sent 1,413 emails to MPs as part of the ongoing push to add age restrictions to the the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which is currently before the House of Lords.

Thousands of emails were sent to MPs in a bid to introduce age restrictions on social media sites. | IM

placeholder image — Thousands of emails were sent to MPs in a bid to introduce age restrictions on social media sites. | IM

“Parents in South Yorkshire are sending a very clear message,” said Ruth Fitzell, South Yorkshire regional lead, for Smartphone Free Childhood.

“This isn’t about party politics – it’s about protecting children from addictive, algorithm-driven platforms and making it easier for families to hold the line together. When thousands of parents act at the same time, MPs listen.”

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Australia recently introduced a similar ban, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer indicating that he is open to following in the country’s footsteps.

Joe Ryrie, cofounder of Smartphone Free Childhood, added: “The scale and speed of this response shows just how strongly parents and the wider public feel about this issue,

“Families from every part of the country are saying the same thing: childhood needs stronger protections from global platforms built to maximise attention and profit - and parents need greater support from the government.”