Sir, – Séamas O’Reilly likens social media to a public park full of scorpions, arguing that the developers are the social media companies and the scorpions are the harmful content they have allowed to proliferate. (“Social media bans for children ignore the scorpions in the room,” July 9th).But now imagine the same park where the gates quietly close behind your child, where every corner promises something even more exciting, the paths loop back on themselves, and there’s no obvious exit. With “infinite scroll”, the developers haven’t just filled the park with scorpions; they’ve engineered it so children remain in the park for as long as possible, to the detriment of their attention, wellbeing and the offline experiences that help children grow into resilient adults. As a parent of a 10- and 13-year-old, it is the addictive nature not only of infinite scroll but other design features such as notifications, algorithm recommendations, streaks and autoplay that worries me just as much as harmful content. That is the primary reason my children won’t be getting smartphones any time soon. A Government ban on social media wouldn’t make that decision for me, but it would make it easier to uphold, just as age restrictions on smoking, vaping and alcohol help parents reinforce boundaries. – Yours, etc,SALLY O’SULLIVAN, Churchtown, Dublin 14.