The Cayman Islands’ young parliamentarians made their case against a social media ban for children under 16, rejecting a motion passed by elected lawmakers earlier this year.
Debating the topic for nearly three hours, members of the first Summer Youth Parliament sent a message to their counterparts in parliament, who will look to their views to guide public policy.
“Today we’re turning the tables in a beautiful way,” said MP Kenneth Bryan, the Youth Parliament Organising Committee chairman, during the session’s opening remarks on 2 July.
“This is a true exercise of public consultation. We are here to listen to the unique viewpoints of each and every one of the young people, which this policy will affect.”
Private Member’s Motion No. 3, ‘Limiting social media for children under the age of sixteen’, mirrored one moved in parliament in March by deputy speaker Pearlina McGaw-Lumsden.
While MPs supported the proposal, now intended to inform policy development, YPs rejected it by a vote of seven to 12.
Many young members questioned the motion’s enforceability and its appropriateness as a public health measure.
“Every Caribbean child knows this conversation. You tell your parents your head hurts – it’s the phone. You’re tired – it’s the phone. You fail a test – it’s the phone,” said youth deputy opposition leader Leah Warren, representing George Town West.
Participating young parliamentarians during the debate (Photo: Parliament of the Cayman Islands)
“But while that may slide for Caribbean parenting, it does not make for good public policy.”
To safeguard youth welfare and mental health, as the motion proposes, Warren suggested starting with the Youth Parliament motion that passed in March.
“This Youth Parliament has already proposed a mental health initiative designed by our young people for our young people. What has the parliament done in response to that?” she said.
“Initiatives like those in combination with strengthening [and] safeguarding violence-prevention, family-support and parenting programmes can make a Cayman-specific approach to addressing youth mental health. That should be the first mode of action.”
YP Taygan McFarlane, representing Cayman Brac West and Little Cayman, questioned the ability to enforce a social media ban.
The motion suggests the primary responsibility for compliance, age verification and enforcement fall on social media platform operators.
“Sending a regulatory notice from George Town to Meta headquarters in Menlo Park, California is like sending a strongly worded letter to a hurricane – you feel better writing it, the hurricane’s still coming,” McFarlane said.
He also questioned the motion’s compatibility with Cayman’s Data Protection Act, since it would require children to share biometric data and identification documents with the platforms.
Other members said young people could easily defeat age checks using VPNs, false birth dates and borrowed accounts.
Youth opposition leader Johanah O’Connor threw her support instead behind digital literacy programmes for parents – one of the motion’s resolutions – as well as children.
“Our future needs to know how to protect themselves from the dangers online and become resilient to predators.” O’Connor said.
She added: “That solution is very different from expecting multinational corporations to become the primary guardians of our children.
“We should also remember that not all social media use is harmful. Young people use digital platforms to learn, collaborate, express creativity, maintain friendships and access educational opportunities.”
Digital literacy and parental guidance, she argued, would be a more sustainable solution than imposing a legislative ban.
The case for – and a warning to lawmakers
Supporters of the motion pointed to the immediate dangers posed to young people on social media platforms, with youth premier Raniah Berry arguing for the need to promote safety.
“This motion is not about taking technology away from our young people. It is about one simple question. Where do we draw the line?” she said.
“We draw the line where our children’s safety begins… by putting their wellbeing before corporate convenience.”
YP Dominic Anderson pointed to the impact of exposing developing minds to “hateful ideologies, violence and inappropriate content” online, underscoring the incentive for social media companies to keep their users engaged and scrolling.
“You are not the customer; you are the product,” he said.
Closing the debate, opposition leader O’Connor, who voted against the motion, implored elected lawmakers to avoid turning Caymanian children into “the guinea pigs of this trend”, putting them on notice that the youth will be watching.
“We hope you are listening because when this topic is brought back up, I expect it to be debated,” she said.
“We expect a discussion, not a blind agreement, not a contradictory piece of paper that talks about what you did not grow up with.
“We are your youths. Listen to us. We see things that you don’t.”
