Majority of Canadians support social media ban for kids under 16

Most Canadians would support a ban of social media among youth, according to a new survey.

Polling 4,000 Canadians in March, Angus Reid found that 75 per cent of respondents backed a full social media ban for kids under 16. What’s more, 61 per cent of Canadians said they believe teens aren’t capable of using social media responsibility. Overall, more than 90 per cent of respondents said social media poses a threat to mental health, misinformation and cyberbullying, among other issues.

Outside of those specific stats, Angus Reid says a “majority of parents” monitor and restrict their kids’ social media use. With all of that said, the research firm found differing opinions on which platforms to ban. While over 80 per cent of respondents specifically called for TikTok, X (Twitter) and Snapchat to be banned for kids under 16, just under half (48 per cent) said the same for YouTube. Besides hosting many inflammatory and just plain false politically-charged “ragebait” videos, YouTube is also host to a lot of AI-generated content that spreads misinformation related to issues like healthcare, as reported in a recent McGill study.

Another interesting finding from Angus Reid’s survey is that there’s no consensus on what age is the “right one” for a social media ban. While 16 was the most chosen age (32 per cent), the results were quite close for 10-12 (13 per cent), 14 (16 per cent) and 15 (13 per cent).

And finally, one-third of Canadians say AI companies like OpenAI should be required to report user activity to Canadian authorities if it’s “potentially illegal,” while 45 per cent said they should only be mandated if it’s illegal. This is a particularly notable part of the survey since it comes shortly after the Feb. 10 massacre in Tumbler Ridge, B.C. in which it was later discovered that the shooter had been banned from ChatGPT due to concerning queries related to mass shootings.

Despite this, OpenAI didn’t report the flagged account to Canadian authorities, even though some employees had urged the company to do so, because it didn’t meet the required threat “threshold.” After intense scrutiny and criticism from both the Canadian public and government, OpenAI agreed to improve its safety protocols. All the while, the company is facing a lawsuit from the family of one of the Tumbler Ridge victims.

Angus Reid’s full survey on a Canadian social media ban can be found on its website.

It should be noted that the survey follows reports from earlier this year that the federal government is considering a ban of social media among kids 14 and under. It’s still unclear whether this will actually come to pass, but if it does, it would follow suit of Australia, which recently became the first country to implement a social media ban among kids under 16.  Other countries like the UK, Denmark, France, and Germany are also considering such a ban.

Image credit: Kids Help Phone