The impact of social media on young people’s mental health and well-being is a growing topic of concern among parents, educators, health care professionals and regulators. And now, nearly half of US teens say social media has a mostly negative effect on people their age — and almost the same proportion say they’re cutting back on social media use.

But the committee argued against calls to ban social media for under-16s, like the one being implemented in Australia, saying it "is neither practical nor effective". The government said it was "making our streets and online spaces safer for children" by delivering its Plan for Change.

New Pew data shows nearly half of the 1,400 teens surveyed believe social media is harmful to their generation.