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. LDNhttps://bsky.app/profile/drew.battenhall.comhttps://bsky.app/profile/drew.battenhall.com/post/3mmbvxrwf422qChatted 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 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgqpz809e7lo20 May 2026 12:32 +0000at://did:plc:s53oath2nsj5j6evttzbqeoa/app.bsky.feed.post/3mmbvxrwf422qhttps://bsky.app/profile/drew.battenhall.com/post/3mhkmlv5cac2qJust 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 covfefe21 Mar 2026 08:32 +0000at://did:plc:s53oath2nsj5j6evttzbqeoa/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhkmlv5cac2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/drew.battenhall.com/post/3mehazmm2ec24Chatted to BBC News earlier about Discord’s new age verification + teen safe by default settings https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1d67vdlk1ko09 Feb 2026 20:11 +0000at://did:plc:s53oath2nsj5j6evttzbqeoa/app.bsky.feed.post/3mehazmm2ec24https://bsky.app/profile/drew.battenhall.com/post/3mcypnjn5ek26A 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 is22 Jan 2026 07:58 +0000at://did:plc:s53oath2nsj5j6evttzbqeoa/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcypnjn5ek26https://bsky.app/profile/drew.battenhall.com/post/3mcv6lik3bk25Some 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. https://www.raisegeneration.com/post/the-challenges-we-face-as-the-uk-considers-banning-social-media-for-under-16s20 Jan 2026 22:14 +0000at://did:plc:s53oath2nsj5j6evttzbqeoa/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcv6lik3bk25https://bsky.app/profile/drew.battenhall.com/post/3mc2wxajdgk2uVery proud of my latest eBay purchase I think I’m becoming a 1980s tech collector 👀10 Jan 2026 11:49 +0000at://did:plc:s53oath2nsj5j6evttzbqeoa/app.bsky.feed.post/3mc2wxajdgk2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/drew.battenhall.com/post/3ma24mona422tI'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... https://open.substack.com/pub/drewbenvie/p/one-week-in-a-look-at-coverstar-yubo?r=adolh&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true15 Dec 2025 17:07 +0000at://did:plc:s53oath2nsj5j6evttzbqeoa/app.bsky.feed.post/3ma24mona422thttps://bsky.app/profile/drew.battenhall.com/post/3m7lam6z7ds27Australia’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.09 Dec 2025 19:08 +0000at://did:plc:s53oath2nsj5j6evttzbqeoa/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7lam6z7ds27https://bsky.app/profile/drew.battenhall.com/post/3m7fjbs2d3k2xNot that often a UK comms job opens up at a hot social network but Substack is hiring https://substack.com/@drewbenvie/note/c-185152470?r=adolh&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action07 Dec 2025 12:28 +0000at://did:plc:s53oath2nsj5j6evttzbqeoa/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7fjbs2d3k2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/drew.battenhall.com/post/3m7dztulki22pRare UK comms job at a top social network https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4342333210/06 Dec 2025 22:19 +0000at://did:plc:s53oath2nsj5j6evttzbqeoa/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7dztulki22phttps://bsky.app/profile/drew.battenhall.com/post/3m6lwjmijzk2wLooking 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 baaaack27 Nov 2025 08:15 +0000at://did:plc:s53oath2nsj5j6evttzbqeoa/app.bsky.feed.post/3m6lwjmijzk2whttps://bsky.app/profile/drew.battenhall.com/post/3m6j7j2mlxk2fTikTok 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“ https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/business/media/tiktok-shop-black-friday.html26 Nov 2025 06:18 +0000at://did:plc:s53oath2nsj5j6evttzbqeoa/app.bsky.feed.post/3m6j7j2mlxk2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/drew.battenhall.com/post/3m6i6jywp4k2kX’s troll exposé shows why social media trust & safety teams were so vital on Twitter: combating coordinated inauthentic behaviour, not censoring viewpoints https://www.techdirt.com/2025/11/24/xs-new-feature-reveals-why-trust-safety-work-was-never-about-the-censorship-industrial-complex/25 Nov 2025 20:28 +0000at://did:plc:s53oath2nsj5j6evttzbqeoa/app.bsky.feed.post/3m6i6jywp4k2khttps://bsky.app/profile/drew.battenhall.com/post/3m6fmmpmw3k2y“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 https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/technology/openai-chatgpt-users-risks.html?unlocked_article_code=1.3U8.aLI0.rvBtjMyLr560&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb24 Nov 2025 20:02 +0000at://did:plc:s53oath2nsj5j6evttzbqeoa/app.bsky.feed.post/3m6fmmpmw3k2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/drew.battenhall.com/post/3m6ezmgphxk2tTwitter 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 https://www.thedailybeast.com/top-maga-influencers-accidentally-unmasked-as-foreign-actors/24 Nov 2025 14:22 +0000at://did:plc:s53oath2nsj5j6evttzbqeoa/app.bsky.feed.post/3m6ezmgphxk2thttps://bsky.app/profile/drew.battenhall.com/post/3m67yvqcgyc2zTwitch and Kick added to the list of social media that will be banned for Australia’s under-16s from December 10th. https://open.substack.com/pub/drewbenvie/p/unpicking-the-teen-social-media-shakeup?r=adolh&utm_medium=ios22 Nov 2025 14:26 +0000at://did:plc:s53oath2nsj5j6evttzbqeoa/app.bsky.feed.post/3m67yvqcgyc2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/drew.battenhall.com/post/3m5epn5uqok2yWe’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. https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/433539538411 Nov 2025 17:58 +0000at://did:plc:s53oath2nsj5j6evttzbqeoa/app.bsky.feed.post/3m5epn5uqok2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/drew.battenhall.com/post/3m4uasbfys22kBig 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. 🙏🏼☕️💥05 Nov 2025 04:50 +0000at://did:plc:s53oath2nsj5j6evttzbqeoa/app.bsky.feed.post/3m4uasbfys22khttps://bsky.app/profile/drew.battenhall.com/post/3m3dbweqx522kProud as punch to win two agency of the year awards at PR Week last night. https://www.battenhall.com/blog/battenhall-named-2025-specialist-consultancy-of-the-year-at-prweek-uk-awards16 Oct 2025 17:30 +0000at://did:plc:s53oath2nsj5j6evttzbqeoa/app.bsky.feed.post/3m3dbweqx522khttps://bsky.app/profile/drew.battenhall.com/post/3m2po6ydjwk2nLooking for followers on Sora 2. And yep I have invite codes but mainly want to follow my network on there 👋🏼 https://sora.chatgpt.com/profile/drewbenvie08 Oct 2025 22:16 +0000at://did:plc:s53oath2nsj5j6evttzbqeoa/app.bsky.feed.post/3m2po6ydjwk2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/drew.battenhall.com/post/3lyq32ogg2c2nDecided to start writing my Substack again. Thoughts on the year ahead in social media… https://open.substack.com/pub/drewbenvie/p/crystal-ball-time-social-media-in?r=adolh&utm_medium=ios13 Sep 2025 15:16 +0000at://did:plc:s53oath2nsj5j6evttzbqeoa/app.bsky.feed.post/3lyq32ogg2c2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/drew.battenhall.com/post/3lv63bejkdc2aLoving 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!30 Jul 2025 07:16 +0000at://did:plc:s53oath2nsj5j6evttzbqeoa/app.bsky.feed.post/3lv63bejkdc2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/drew.battenhall.com/post/3lswpfaz4xc2uChatted to the BBC earlier about whether Twitter can reinvent itself with new product chief Nikita Bier at the helm https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c78nnxv3lppo.amp01 Jul 2025 22:05 +0000at://did:plc:s53oath2nsj5j6evttzbqeoa/app.bsky.feed.post/3lswpfaz4xc2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/drew.battenhall.com/post/3lshmokqvmk2xPier 57 is my new favourite place (and the bits around it where I’ve been spending much of this week)25 Jun 2025 22:06 +0000at://did:plc:s53oath2nsj5j6evttzbqeoa/app.bsky.feed.post/3lshmokqvmk2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/drew.battenhall.com/post/3lse36epl4k2bIt’s 5am, big day ahead so two coffees it is. Can’t ever remember it being as hot as this in New York ☀️🥵24 Jun 2025 12:15 +0000at://did:plc:s53oath2nsj5j6evttzbqeoa/app.bsky.feed.post/3lse36epl4k2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/drew.battenhall.com/post/3lrbusogjws2uI don't often get interviewed like this but here's a new one. Thank you to Logging Off Club for the chat... https://loggingoffclub.substack.com/p/what-is-missing-is-not-social-media10 Jun 2025 21:51 +0000at://did:plc:s53oath2nsj5j6evttzbqeoa/app.bsky.feed.post/3lrbusogjws2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/drew.battenhall.com/post/3lqpvwvj4yc2iThree entry level social media agency roles just opened in my U.S. team for anyone looking. 🗽 Junior Social Media Analyst (New York) lnkd.in/ehFEHEqX 🌇 Junior Account Executive (Los Angeles) lnkd.in/ekNEafHg 🚕 Junior Account Executive (New York) lnkd.in/eEQd_rs303 Jun 2025 18:23 +0000at://did:plc:s53oath2nsj5j6evttzbqeoa/app.bsky.feed.post/3lqpvwvj4yc2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/drew.battenhall.com/post/3lpceiiqpbk2wSomething from me in Digital Frontier today: https://digitalfrontier.com/articles/children-social-media-bans-raise16 May 2025 15:41 +0000at://did:plc:s53oath2nsj5j6evttzbqeoa/app.bsky.feed.post/3lpceiiqpbk2w