Drew Benvie

Drew Benvie

@drew.battenhall.com

Social media commentator, CEO of @battenhall.com and public speaker. Featured on BBC telly, radio and in other places. Wrote the Wikipedia page on social media, did a TED talk on it, and shout at various sports. Proud father & husband & dog dad. LDN

1.3K followers663 following530 posts

Drew Benvie reposted

Battenhall
@battenhall.com

Today we’re launching Battenhall Labs – our global innovation unit for emerging tech. Battenhall Labs brings together our specialists to help brands apply new technology responsibly and effectively. Read more from Chief Innovation Officer and Labs lead, @philsheard.bsky.social: btnhl.com/4qmSBtD

Drew Benvie
@drew.battenhall.com

A social media ban for kids in the UK seems inevitable now, but to do it on safety grounds is fraught with problems. - There are already age restrictions, they don't work - Kids use VPNs already to for example use apps at school  - Social media isn't the problem: dark social is

Drew Benvie
@drew.battenhall.com

An ineffectual social media ban for kids will be the legislation's undoing. Or worse, those who experience real harms from social media, dark social, messaging apps, the dark web or AI will be less safe as a result.

Drew Benvie
@drew.battenhall.com

Some thoughts... In my role as head of the youth social media safety nonprofit Raise I commend Liz Kendall’s announcement of the UK government’s three month consultation on social media use for under 16s in the UK. Next is the challenging bit. www.raisegeneration.com/post/the-cha...

raisegeneration.comThe challenges we face as the UK considers banning social media for under-16sAs the world watches the impact of a social media ban for under-16s that took effect in Australia back in December, governments elsewhere are now considering the best way to keep young people safer on...
Drew Benvie
@drew.battenhall.com

Australia’s under-16 social media ban is now in force, and here’s the biggest reason it will backfire: Teens are safer on social media than on the alternative, which includes messaging apps used as social networks, dark social, and fake-age permitted adult social.

Drew Benvie
@drew.battenhall.com

We’re about to find out what’s more harmful to teens than algorithmically shaped, moderated and peer-protected social media. It’s AI companions, dark social and fake social IDs.

Drew Benvie
@drew.battenhall.com

What I’d love to see: progressive tech reforms, education programs and a better understanding of how agile our teenage digital escape artists really are. If any country’s govt think banning social media for kids will make lives safer, they are sorely mistaken as to how the real world really works.

Drew Benvie
@drew.battenhall.com

Looking forward to heading to Bristol this afternoon to speak at Communicate Conference about the year ahead in social media. Final touches to the deck. Will be good to be baaaack

Drew Benvie
@drew.battenhall.com

X’s troll exposé shows why social media trust & safety teams were so vital on Twitter: combating coordinated inauthentic behaviour, not censoring viewpoints www.techdirt.com/2025/11/24/x...

techdirt.comX’s New Feature Reveals Why Trust & Safety Work Was Never About The ‘Censorship Industrial Complex’For the last few years, Matt Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger, and their allies have spent considerable energy attacking both academic researchers studying disinformation and the trust & safety te…
Drew Benvie
@drew.battenhall.com

Twitter inadvertently unmasks fake influencers in new transparency feature that shows where an account was originally set up. Dozens of accounts based in Russia, India and Nigeria pretending to be Trump supporting Americans revealed in the process www.thedailybeast.com/top-maga-inf...

thedailybeast.comTop MAGA Influencers Accidentally Unmasked as Foreign ActorsA new feature on Elon Musk’s X has given deeper insight into the online “America First” movement.
Drew Benvie
@drew.battenhall.com

We’re hiring social media analysts in London at Battenhall. Come join our team and help me predict things and count things and keep our beloved clients a step ahead. www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/43...

linkedin.comBattenhall hiring Senior Account Executive - Insights in London Area, United Kingdom | LinkedInPosted 3:13:45 PM. SummaryThe Insights team is central to everything we do at Battenhall, delivering social media…See this and similar jobs on LinkedIn.
Drew Benvie
@drew.battenhall.com

Big day today it’s the annual Battenhall social media briefing event at The British Library in London. 300 brands registered to attend this year and I need to finish learning my lines. 🙏🏼☕️💥

Drew Benvie
@drew.battenhall.com

Loving Bitchat so far. Feels like OG Twitter meets WhatsApp meets Reddit. Dorsey’s new experiment leans into social media culture: it works offline, disappearing content, anonymous users, no tracking, panic mode, etc etc. Good or bad idea? I’m @drew on there, look forward to finding out!

Drew Benvie reposted

Battenhall
@battenhall.com

As global lawmakers step up their efforts to ban social media for under-16s, Battenhall CEO @drew.battenhall.com says it will only make the situation worse. In Digital Frontier, Drew argues for education, safe spaces, and guidance to help teens navigate social media responsibly: bit.ly/3YPJBT8

Drew Benvie reposted

Battenhall
@battenhall.com

Yesterday we announced we are a PRCA Dare Awards finalist… Today we’re can share we’re in the running for Specialist Consultancy AND PR Consultancy of the Year at the CIPR Excellence Awards 2025! 🥳 Well done to our incredible global team for all the work that makes this recognition possible! 🙌

Drew Benvie
@drew.battenhall.com

Team vibes 💯 this week. And if you’re looking for a career start in a place like this (I sit on the left close to coffee) then check out the battenhall Instagram as we have two internships up for grabs. See you this summer 😎☀️🌞

Drew Benvie
@drew.battenhall.com

Currently in Devon taking a break but managed to get this to the BBC this morning 👋🏼

Battenhall@battenhall.com

Meta is expanding Teen Accounts to Facebook and Messenger. Our CEO @drew.battenhall.com shared his perspective with the BBC: “For once, big social are fighting for the leadership position not for the most highly engaged teen user base, but for the safest." Read more: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.ukMeta expands Teen Accounts to Facebook and MessengerThe system imposes more restricted settings on younger users - though campaigners say it's unclear what difference they make.
Drew Benvie
@drew.battenhall.com

Good luck tonight to everyone. @battenhall.com’s up for Large agency of the year and Independent agency of the year later at the PRmoment awards in London. Here’s a clip of Grace, Issie, Christopher & Becky picking up the ‘Large’ award for us this time last year 🥂🍾

Drew Benvie reposted

Battenhall
@battenhall.com

Meta’s new Community Notes program launches tomorrow in the US. 🇺🇸 Battenhall CEO @drew.battenhall.com explores what impact this could have on brands – and why it’s more important than ever to keep a close eye on social communities. 👀 btnhl.com/3FusG1I

btnhl.comMeta begins testing Community Notes programMeta's Community Notes system goes live in the US on 18 March – what will it mean for brands on Facebook, Instagram and Threads?