‘It’s really harmful’: High school students react to proposed youth social media ban

With Canada proposing restricted access to social media for children under 16, students themselves are weighing in on the debate.

At F.W. Johnson Collegiate in Regina, two teenagers shared their perspectives, pointing to concerns about harmful content, online safety and the influence social media can have on young people during critical stages of development.

“I would say social media has a lot of impact on teens, because your brain (is) not fully developed, and it really affects your brain as teens and as kids,” said Abdul, a grade 9 student at Johnson Collegiate.

Read more:

• Saskatchewan young people should be consulted on social media ban, expert says
• Ottawa’s new Digital Safety Act expected to include under-16 social media ban
• Ottawa moves to bar kids under 16 from social media, regulate chatbots

The Liberal government is introducing the Safe Social Media Act, which states anyone under 16 years of age won’t be allowed to have a social media account. The proposal will also require platforms to remove harmful content within 24 hours and submit a digital safety plan to the Digital Safety Commission, which gives people an opportunity to look at the plan.

“Social media and AI chat platforms will have a responsibility to protect children from heartfelt content, including content that promotes self-harm, sexual exploitation, violence, hatred, bullying or the non-consensual sharing of intimate images,” said Marc Miller, Canada’s Minister of Identity and Culture.

Abdul said social media exposes youth to harmful content like  pornography and all forms of violence, as well as having other disadvantages.

“It’s really a battle of comparing yourself to others and I would say it’s really harmful,” he shared.

Although he chats with his friends and likes to watch reels, Abdul said he would have more time without a device in his hand.

“It would be really productive for me if I don’t use social media,” he said.

Marcus Fisher, a grade 12 student, agreed something needs to be done about social media, but said the ban should be lowered for those under 14 or 15.

“I feel like the banning age is a little too (high),” he shared.

Fisher has two younger siblings and is in favour of restricting access due to the types of videos and pictures they are seeing online.

“They’re (teens) always posting stupid stuff, like fights (and) vaping, and I’d say that’s not a good look for them, or to be posting (content that is) influencing other people on social media,” said Fisher.

Fisher added platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat can be dangerous for youth because of online predators.

“I feel like it exploits them in a lot of ways. There’s a lot of creeps on social media (who are) acting or portraying themselves as someone who is younger, like catfishing, for example. I say, that’s a big thing and it’s bad,” Fisher said.

If parents could see exactly what their kids are looking at, Fisher surmised, they’d likely support a social media ban for youth under 16, as well.

When asking parents how they feel, one parent shared concerns about what children are being exposed to online, saying they see the impact of social media trends as overwhelming and hard to escape.

“I feel like it’s (social media’s) negative influences. I think the trends are just too in-your-face and too much, so maybe this will get them off their devices a little bit more,” said Kristen Howdle, mother of two.

Though she is in favour of the restrictions, Howdle said the rules might be difficult to enforce.

“Usually households would just handle this themselves, depending on what their preferences are, but I do get that maybe it’s (social media) interfering with school, (and) maybe that’s where the government could step in,” Howdle considered.

“It’s possibly an overreach.”