Will the UK’s social media ban backfire?

The British government recently announced a ban on all social media usage for children up to the age of 16. But will the ban work? Today on Nudge, I explore the psychology of restrictions, bans and friction. Warning: this show is restricted to those aged 16 or over. --- Become an FSB member: https://get.fsb.org.uk/nudge/ Use code NUDGE for 10% off your FSB membership. Unlock the Nudge Vaults: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/vaults Subscribe to my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew/ --- Today’s sources: Driscoll, R., Davis, K. E., & Lipetz, M. E. (1972). Parental interference and romantic love: The Romeo and Juliet effect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 24(1), 1–10. Freedman, J. L. (1965). Long-term behavioral effects of cognitive dissonance. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 1(2), 145–155. Mazis, M. B., Settle, R. B., & Leslie, D. C. (1973). Elimination of phosphate detergents and psychological reactance. Journal of Marketing Research, 10(4), 390–395. Spence, C., & Wang, Q. J. (2017). Assessing the impact of closure type on wine ratings and mood. Beverages, 3(4), 52. Zellinger, D. A., Fromkin, H. L., Speller, D. E., & Kohn, C. A. (1975). A commodity theory analysis of the effects of age restrictions upon pornographic materials. Journal of Applied Psychology, 60(1), 94–99. Zhang, K., Allard, T., & Bagchi, R. (2025). The token-effort effect: Trivial redemption effort increases price promotion effectiveness. Journal of Marketing.