Much of the debate has focused on the risks associated with social media: its impact on mental health, attention, and safety. But there is a fundamental, and still underexplored, question sitting beneath the discussion: if young people spend less time online, what opportunities and spaces are available to them instead?
At its core, this is not just a digital policy issue. It is a social infrastructure challenge. Do we have the social infrastructure in place to support young people offline and replace social media use?
Relocating connection
Social media, despite its flaws, provides something deeply valuable to young people: connection, identity, and community. Removing or reducing access does not remove those needs, it simply highlights the need for alternative ways to meet them. The risk is that we focus heavily on what we are taking away, without giving equal weight to what we are putting in its place.
Sport, physical activity, community facilities and play spaces are some of the most powerful offline alternatives we have. They offer not only connection and belonging, but also significant co-benefits including improved physical health, better mental wellbeing, skill development, and stronger community ties.
For many young people, participation in sport and access to play spaces and social infrastructure is one of the most effective ways to feel part of something bigger than themselves. But this potential only exists where access exists.
A system under strain: declining access to local provision
Over the past decade, access to local social infrastructure has been steadily eroded. Youth centres have closed. Informal playing spaces have diminished. The cost of participation in organised sport has risen, particularly in the context of the cost of living crisis.
What remains is often unevenly distributed, leaving many communities, particularly more disadvantaged ones, with limited or no accessible provision.
From an inclusive growth perspective, this matters. Access to sport, community facilities, play and recreation is not simply a lifestyle choice; it is a determinant of health, opportunity and social mobility. When provision is reduced or inaccessible, the impacts are not felt equally. They are concentrated among those who already face barriers to participation.
If we are asking young people to step away from their phones, we need to be clear about what we are asking them to step into. Right now, for too many, the answer is: not very much.
Accessibility is everything and it has to feel effortless
Accessibility, availability and diversity of provision are essential, not only for play to begin, but for long-term social, health and wellbeing benefits to be realised. If we are serious about changing behaviour, the starting point is simple: it has to be as easy as scrolling.
That means:
- Spaces that are local and visible
- Activities that are affordable or free
- Environments that feel safe, inclusive and welcoming
- Provision that reflects the diversity of young people’s interests and identities
Barriers, even the smallest ones, matter. Cost, distance, lack of confidence, or a feeling of not belonging or feeling safe can be enough to prevent participation altogether.
The ease and immediacy of digital platforms set a high benchmark. Physical spaces must work harder to compete for young people's attention and be designed with that reality in mind.
Rethinking social infrastructure and interaction through placemaking
There is also a broader opportunity here that sits firmly within the placemaking agenda. The answer is not just more sports pitches or formal facilities. It is about creating a wider ecosystem of spaces that enable incidental play, informal recreation and unstructured social interaction. These are the everyday moments where community is built. Where places become more human and meaningful.
This is about delivering places with heart. Places that feel alive, inclusive and reflective of the communities they serve.
Investing in social infrastructure is not a “nice to have” but a strategic intervention. From an economic and social perspective, the returns are significant:
- Reduced pressure on health services through improved physical and mental wellbeing
- Stronger social cohesion and reduced isolation
- Better outcomes in education and employment through increased confidence and skills
- More resilient and connected communities
This is what inclusive growth looks like in practice: ensuring that everyone, regardless of background or geography, has access to the infrastructure that enables them to thrive. Achieving this requires a shift in how we think about provision. It is not just about quantity, but about quality, equity and relevance.
A moment of opportunity
The social media debate presents a rare opportunity to reframe how we think about young people, place, and participation. We can choose to treat this as a narrow regulatory issue, or we can recognise it as a catalyst to invest in the physical and social environments that shape everyday life.
If we want to reduce reliance on digital spaces, we must create real-world alternatives that are equally compelling.
Leaders including Andy Burnham have long championed the importance of inclusive growth and strong communities. The challenge now is to translate those ambitions into the social infrastructure that gives young people genuine alternatives to online spaces and ensures connection, belonging and opportunity are available in every neighbourhood. The Mayor of London, for example, recently launched a delivery programme of new basketball courts for young people, acknowledging that to have impact you have to ‘invest in the things they love’.
By championing investment in youth provision, community spaces, sport and recreation, there is an opportunity to replace digital connection with meaningful alternatives that help young people belong, participate and thrive.
Young people are not just users of spaces. They are participants in communities and active shapers of place. If we remove one form of connection without meaningfully replacing it, we risk deepening isolation rather than alleviating it.
However, if we get this right, investing in accessible, inclusive and engaging social infrastructure offers something far more lasting: places with heart, communities with connection, and a generation that is supported not just to log off, but to truly belong.
This article is part of our Inclusive Growth series. For more information about creating places that support connection, participation and belonging, please get in touch with Ada Brahimi.
18 August 2026
