Several countries have already rolled out partial or total bans on smartphones in schools, including France, China and Brazil. — Pixabay
Support for banning young children from social media is growing worldwide, according to a new survey.
In an Ipsos poll conducted throughout 30 countries, an average of 71% of respondents said children ages 14 and under should not have access to social media inside or outside of school. This marks a 6-point increase from 2024.
Support was highest among parents with children in school, with 74% favouring a ban, up from 70% in 2024. Meanwhile, 69% of respondents without school-age children said they supported prohibiting children from social media, up from 62% last year, marking a 7-point increase.
The survey – fielded June 20 to July 4 with 23,700 adults – revealed at least 50% of respondents in all 30 countries favoured a social media ban, and support grew in every nation except three: India, Thailand and Hungary.
Respondents in Indonesia and France were the most likely to agree that “social media is a problem and we should ban children from it,” while those in Turkey and South Africa were the least likely to concur with this statement.
The poll comes after Australia, in 2024, became the first country to pass a law prohibiting children under 16 from using social media platforms, according to NPR. The Indonesian government plans to follow suit, according to Reuters.
These protective measures follow the publication of multiple studies that have linked social media use with negative health outcomes in children.
A 2024 systematic study published in the journal Healthcare found kids who spend more than two hours per day on social media face “a significantly higher risk” of symptoms of anxiety and depression.
However, major social media platforms – like Meta and Snapchat – have expressed concerns about banning children from their sites, according to NPR.
They’ve also implemented new safety measures for young users to shield them from unwanted or harmful content.
The Ipsos survey – which has a margin of error between 3.5 and 5 percentage points –also found a smaller majority of respondents favour banning smartphones altogether in school.
Across all 30 countries, an average of 55% said smartphones should be prohibited in schools.
Among parents with children in school, 57% said they favoured a blanket ban on smartphones, which is up slightly from 56% in 2024. Meanwhile, 54% of those without school-age children supported a ban, up from 52% in 2024.
Respondents in European nations were the most likely to say they favoured removing phones from learning environments. In France, 80% supported this.
In contrast, support was the lowest in Asia. In Thailand, just 35% said they favoured a smartphone ban in schools.
Several countries have already rolled out partial or total bans on smartphones in schools, including France, China and Brazil.
A 2022 study published in the journal Innovative Higher Education showed removing smartphones from college classrooms leads to increased comprehension and decreased anxiety.
In contrast, a study published the same year in the journal Education and Information Technologies revealed students with higher smartphone usage outperformed those who used their phones less. – Miami Herald/Tribune News Service
