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
Wrote the Wikipedia page on social media, did a TED talk on it, and shout at various sports. Proud father & husband & dog dad. LDN
Chatted to the BBC last night about how the social features inside Roblox are changing, and what it means for the platform but for gaming/social crossover features more broadly too www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
US watchdog FTC urged to probe Roblox over child safety and spending claims
Roblox said it had
www.bbc.co.uk
May 20, 2026 at 12:32 PM
Chatted to the BBC last night about how the social features inside Roblox are changing, and what it means for the platform but for gaming/social crossover features more broadly too www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Just come off BBC Radio interview about Twitter's 20th birthday and I called it Twix. A: it has a ring to it. B. need more covfefe
March 21, 2026 at 8:32 AM
Just come off BBC Radio interview about Twitter's 20th birthday and I called it Twix. A: it has a ring to it. B. need more covfefe
Chatted to BBC News earlier about Discord’s new age verification + teen safe by default settings www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Discord to start requiring face scan or ID to access adult content
The online chat service, which has 200 million monthly users, will blur adult content by default.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 9, 2026 at 8:11 PM
Chatted to BBC News earlier about Discord’s new age verification + teen safe by default settings www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Drew Benvie
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
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
February 5, 2026 at 11:26 AM
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
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
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
- 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
January 22, 2026 at 7:58 AM
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
- 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
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...
The challenges we face as the UK considers banning social media for under-16s
As 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...
www.raisegeneration.com
January 20, 2026 at 10:14 PM
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...
Very proud of my latest eBay purchase I think I’m becoming a 1980s tech collector 👀
January 10, 2026 at 11:49 AM
Very proud of my latest eBay purchase I think I’m becoming a 1980s tech collector 👀
I've taken a look at the apps rising in Australia one week after the teen social media ban kicked in. Hello Coverstar, Yubo, Bump, Rednote and more... open.substack.com/pub/drewbenv...
One week in, a look at Coverstar, Yubo and Bump, the apps rising from Australia's teen social media ban
Since the Australian government banned a set of social networking apps for under-16s last week, users have shifted to new places online
open.substack.com
December 15, 2025 at 5:07 PM
I've taken a look at the apps rising in Australia one week after the teen social media ban kicked in. Hello Coverstar, Yubo, Bump, Rednote and more... open.substack.com/pub/drewbenv...
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.
December 9, 2025 at 7:08 PM
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.
Not that often a UK comms job opens up at a hot social network but Substack is hiring
substack.com/@drewbenvie/...
substack.com/@drewbenvie/...
December 7, 2025 at 12:28 PM
Not that often a UK comms job opens up at a hot social network but Substack is hiring
substack.com/@drewbenvie/...
substack.com/@drewbenvie/...
Rare UK comms job at a top social network
www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/43...
www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/43...
December 6, 2025 at 10:19 PM
Rare UK comms job at a top social network
www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/43...
www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/43...
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
November 27, 2025 at 8:15 AM
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
TikTok shop has done $10bn of sales in the U.S. year to date: “Faux Jewels and Slimming Belts: Why Shopping on TikTok Is a Lot Like QVC“
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/b...
Faux Jewels and Slimming Belts: Why Shopping on TikTok Is a Lot Like QVC
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 6:18 AM
TikTok shop has done $10bn of sales in the U.S. year to date: “Faux Jewels and Slimming Belts: Why Shopping on TikTok Is a Lot Like QVC“
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/b...
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...
www.techdirt.com/2025/11/24/x...
X’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…
www.techdirt.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:39 PM
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...
www.techdirt.com/2025/11/24/x...
“As ChatGPT surged in popularity, longtime safety experts burned out and started leaving.” A fascinating long read in the New York Times about the problematic growth of an AI chatbot
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/t...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/t...
What OpenAI Did When ChatGPT Users Lost Touch With Reality
www.nytimes.com
November 24, 2025 at 8:02 PM
“As ChatGPT surged in popularity, longtime safety experts burned out and started leaving.” A fascinating long read in the New York Times about the problematic growth of an AI chatbot
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/t...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/t...
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...
www.thedailybeast.com/top-maga-inf...
Top MAGA Influencers Accidentally Unmasked as Foreign Actors
A new feature on Elon Musk’s X has given deeper insight into the online “America First” movement.
www.thedailybeast.com
November 24, 2025 at 2:22 PM
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...
www.thedailybeast.com/top-maga-inf...
Twitch and Kick added to the list of social media that will be banned for Australia’s under-16s from December 10th.
open.substack.com/pub/drewbenv...
open.substack.com/pub/drewbenv...
Unpicking the teen social media shakeup that started this week in Australia
As Australia enlarges its list of banned platforms for under-16s to include Twitch, the world is watching to see what kids do next, and if the internet really is safer without social media
open.substack.com
November 22, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Twitch and Kick added to the list of social media that will be banned for Australia’s under-16s from December 10th.
open.substack.com/pub/drewbenv...
open.substack.com/pub/drewbenv...
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...
www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/43...
Battenhall hiring Senior Account Executive - Insights in London Area, United Kingdom | LinkedIn
Posted 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.
www.linkedin.com
November 11, 2025 at 5:58 PM
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...
www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/43...
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. 🙏🏼☕️💥
November 5, 2025 at 4:50 AM
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. 🙏🏼☕️💥
Proud as punch to win two
agency of the year awards at PR Week last night. www.battenhall.com/blog/battenh...
agency of the year awards at PR Week last night. www.battenhall.com/blog/battenh...
Battenhall named 2025 Specialist Consultancy of the Year at PRWeek UK Awards
Battenhall does the double at PRWeek UK Awards winning Specialist Agency of the Year and receiving a Highly Commended honour for Small Consultancy of the Year
www.battenhall.com
October 16, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Proud as punch to win two
agency of the year awards at PR Week last night. www.battenhall.com/blog/battenh...
agency of the year awards at PR Week last night. www.battenhall.com/blog/battenh...
Looking for followers on Sora 2. And yep I have invite codes but mainly want to follow my network on there 👋🏼
sora.chatgpt.com/profile/drew...
sora.chatgpt.com/profile/drew...
October 8, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Looking for followers on Sora 2. And yep I have invite codes but mainly want to follow my network on there 👋🏼
sora.chatgpt.com/profile/drew...
sora.chatgpt.com/profile/drew...
Decided to start writing my Substack again. Thoughts on the year ahead in social media… open.substack.com/pub/drewbenv...
Crystal ball time: social media in 2026
On 5th November I’ll be presenting at Battenhall’s annual social media keynote in London, and as I look at what's shaping the year ahead, it feels like the perfect time to restart this Substack.
open.substack.com
September 13, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Decided to start writing my Substack again. Thoughts on the year ahead in social media… open.substack.com/pub/drewbenv...
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!
Good or bad idea?
I’m @drew on there, look forward to finding out!
July 30, 2025 at 7:16 AM
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!
Good or bad idea?
I’m @drew on there, look forward to finding out!