As MPs debate the Safer Phones Bill, More in Common polling with the New Britain Project for the National Education Union shows clear support for strong restrictions on the harms of social media, spanning Britain's political divides and with clear demand for action from both parents and young people.
Across Britain's divides, people are concerned about the impacts of social media on young people
Across Britain, there are high levels of concern about the impact that social media is having on young people: 72 per cent think that social media has a negative impact on young people, and among parents social media tops the list of negative impacts on their children's mental health.
Among Gen Z themselves, there is also a sense of regret that so much of their childhood has been taken up by social media. Almost two thirds of Gen Z say social media does more harm than good, half of them say they wish they'd spent less time on their phones growing up, and 78 per cent say if they were a parent they would try to delay their child using social media for as long as possible.
Strong support for tighter rules on social media
Parents, young people, and the public as a whole all support raising the age of social media to 16, and are comfortable with tighter age verification on social media platforms in order to enforce this.
Three quarters support raising the age at which people can access social media to 16, including a majority of every age group and every voter group.
A range of other policy measures on protecting young people from the harms of social media are also popular:
- 75% support the creation of a new licensing scheme for ‘child friendly’ smartphones ( 7% oppose)
- 79% support giving Ofcom new powers to prevent children being exposed to ‘addictive by design’ apps and services by internet companies ( 4% oppose)
- 77% support commissioning new independent health guidance on protecting young people from spending too much time on social media or facing other online harms (4% oppose)
Britons worry about the use of smartphones in schools
The overwhelming majority of Britons support a national ban on the use of smartphones in schools for people under 16, and only 14% oppose. Like many of the other policies in this report, support spans all of Britain’s voter groups.
52 per cent of parents would like their child’s school to have tighter restrictions on smartphone use - only 10 per cent would like them to have less tight restrictions.
Parents are most likely to say that their children’s schools smartphone policy works well if their child’s school outright bans phones, and where schools have no restrictions on smartphone use parents are most likely to say this policy works poorly.
Now is the time for stronger regulations
The British public do not buy the argument that regulating social media will distract from other Government priorities: The vast majority of Britons (79%) believe the government can tackle online harms while also addressing key priorities like the NHS and cost of living.