By Leslie Cholowsky, Editor
A recent Angus Reid poll, released at the end of March this year, shows a surprising result. Of all Canadians polled, 87 per cent supported at least a partial ban on social media. Parents of youth appear to support a full ban on social media use for anyone under 16, with 75 per cent of the people polled supporting that decision.
With over 40 per cent strongly supporting, and 34 per cent supporting, the poll sends a clear message. Fully half of responding parents whose oldest child is 16 or 17 say they believe teens are not capable of using social media responsibly, say the poll results.
What the poll discovered, too, is that parents of youth ages 10 to 15 are often already monitoring their child’s social media usage. A majority of parents who took the poll said they put restrictions on which apps their children use, and also monitor their activities or place time limits.
And while a ban would be welcomed by most parents, according to the poll results, most feel that it is up to parents, not government, to regulate social media use among youth.
The poll also asked which social media apps should be banned, with TikTok coming out ahead, at 88 per cent, Twitter/X at 86 per cent, and Snapchat at 84 per cent. Less than half of those polled would ban their children from YouTube (48 per cent.)
When it comes to setting an age as the right one for children to access social media, poll takers couldn’t agree, with most choosing 16, (32 per cent) but some choosing 10-12, some 14, and some 15.
And parents were at an impasse (51 per cent disagreed to 44 per cent to agreed) on whether youth ages 16 and 17 are capable of using social media responsibly.
Only a third of those polled think AI companies like Open AI should report user activity to Canadian authorities if it is ‘potentially’ illegal, but nearly half said they should report it if it ‘is’ illegal.
The top five concerns of those taking the poll, in terms of what dangers lurk for youth on social media, were: addiction or excessive screen time (94 per cent); Mental health impacts (94 per cent), Online predators (93 per cent), Exposure to misinformation (92 per cent); and Cyberbullying (90 per cent).
Of the parents who completed the poll with children aged 10-17, three-quarters of the youth currently use social media. Just half of those polled place restrictions on their child’s social media use, with restrictions of certain apps (52 per cent) the largest, but with 19 percent having no restrictions at all.
In March of this year, a California jury found Meta (founders of Facebook and Instagram) and YouTube liable for “negligently designing addictive platforms that harmed a 20-year-old user’s mental health.” That jury awarded $6 million in damages, and is the first time a jury has held a social media company responsible for youth addiction.
Prior to the ruling, however, Canada had joined ranks with countries who were already considering a ban on social media use for those under 16.
Last December, Australia was the first country in the world to ban social media use for anyone under 16 years of age. That ban includes but is not limited to: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Threads.
Other countries, including Canada, who may be considering similar legislation are Denmark, France, Germany, and the UK, according to the Angus Reid poll.
The same poll in the US had similar levels of support, at 72 per cent of all people polled in favour of a full ban on social media use for anyone under 16.
Read this and more from the May 20 edition of The Community Press!
