The Lancaster MP has joined dozens of other Labour MPs in calling for a ban on social media access for under 16s in the UK.
The government has launched a consultation on the proposal as a part of a series of measures, similar to those introduced in Australia recently.
Lancaster and Wyre MP Cat Smith has signed an open letter to the government, joining more than 60 Labour MPs who have called on the prime minister to impose a ban on under-16s access to social media platforms.
In an open letter to Sir Keir Starmer, they said: ‘’ Across our constituencies, we hear the same message: children are anxious, unhappy, and unable to focus on learning. They are not building the social skills needed to thrive, nor having the experiences that will prepare them for adulthood.
‘’At home, the average 12-year-old now spends 29 hours a week on a smartphone, much of it on social media platforms rife with harmful content, designed to be addictive.
‘’The consequences of this are clear. More than 500 children a day are being referred for anxiety alone in England. For teenage boys, going from zero to five hours of daily social media use is associated with a doubling of depression rates. For girls, rates triple.
‘’We believe the onus must be placed on technology platforms, not parents, to prevent underage access. We would support a model similar to Australia's that requires companies to take meaningful steps to enforce age limits.
‘’Most strikingly, young, people themselves recognise the harm: 78% of Gen Z say they would try to delay their child using social media as long as possible.
‘’We are all strong supporters of technology, and of this Labour Government's ambition to use tech to improve lives. But successive Governments have done far too little to protect young people from the consequences of unregulated, addictive social media platforms.’’
The House of Lords is likely to vote later this week on a cross-party amendment that would implement an Australia-style ban in the UK.
It comes as the government faces additional pressure from the House of Lords, which is expected to vote on a proposed ban on Wednesday, with the amendment to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill having backing from several prominent figures such as former children's TV presenter Baroness Benjamin
There is also a separate amendment calling for the introduction of film-style age ratings on social media apps children can access.
The plans would also see England's education inspector, Ofsted, given the power to check policies on phone use when it goes into schools.
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