For Lauren Cowell, the decision to let her and partner Simon’s 12-year-old son Eric have a phone was something she was not going to take lightly. As she began to research the effect of social media on young people, she came across powerful stories from parents who had lost their children to the dangers of the internet and the issue moved from a personal debate to a passionate cause.  Lauren has recently lent her voice to the Raise the Age campaign, which wants to ban all social media for every person under the age of 16 in the UK. And she won’t rest until that goal is implemented into law. “I think we need to act to protect our children because they are vulnerable and they don’t have the voice and the capacity to advocate for themselves,” she tells Hello! exclusively. “We need to be the ones who do that for them.” © Hoda DavaineLauren Cowell with partner Simon and their son Eric She came across Raise the Age while thinking over her son’s request …