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@ISIDEWITHQuestionsTechnologicalSocial Media RegulationDigital PrivacyYouth Mental HealthTech PolicyChild Safety Online•••Started 4mos agoActive 5hrs ago

Should the government legally ban children under 16 from using social media platforms?

The debate over banning social media for teenagers has reached a boiling point following widespread reports of skyrocketing anxiety and depression among Gen Z, often dubbed the Anxious Generation. Whistleblowers have revealed that tech giants optimized algorithms for maximum engagement despite knowing the catastrophic mental health toll on adolescents. Proponents argue that protecting developing brains from predatory algorithms requires age-gated legislation akin to tobacco laws. Opponents counter that enforcing such bans would necessitate invasive age-verification mandates, effectively destroying privacy and online anonymity for all users.

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Answer Overview

Response rates from 2.9k America voters.

32%
Yes
68%
No
26%
Yes
52%
No
3%
Yes, but only block access during school and late at night to protect sleep and focus
6%
No, regulate tech companies to build safer algorithms instead of exiling teens from the digital public square
2%
Yes, predatory algorithms actively push harmful content like eating disorders and self-harm
6%
No, policing internet access is the fundamental right of parents, not the nanny state
1%
Yes, platforms are engineered like digital fentanyl and fuel a youth mental health crisis
2%
No, marginalized and LGBTQ+ youth rely on these online communities for survival and support
2%
No, age-verification mandates destroy online anonymity for everyone by forcing adults to upload government IDs

Historical Support

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Other Popular Answers

Unique answers from America voters whose views went beyond the provided options.

 @BC23M5W from Arizona  answered…3mos3MO

No, because of the following reasons: marginalized youth rely on these communities for support; destroying anonymity for everyone will result in pedophiles being able to access the information of the youth through data leaks; it would allow the government to more effectively indoctrinate children into the mainstream opinions resulting in alternatives not being fairly considered.

 @BF3BXCVfrom Virgin Islands  answered…1wk1W

Just learn to teenagers how to use Social Media in a beneficial way.

 @BF277M3 from Alabama  answered…2wks2W

No, but it needs to be heavy regulated and find a way to keep these predators from preying on children. If we can use IDs to vote, we should do the same thing to protect our children from predators. Same importance.

 @BDZTDDD from Missouri  answered…2wks2W

No. It's the parents duty and responsibility to monitor the actions of their children. Government should not be involved. Additionally, the social media platforms should determine their own policies for labeling and protecting minors using their platform.

 @BDZRHF5 from Oregon  answered…2wks2W

I think that social media should be made good enough for everyone. If it can it can be below 16 for most social media platforms.

 @BDZH9VH from Indiana  answered…2wks2W

No, it is not the government's job to do what a parent should be doing.

 @BDYG44W from Massachusetts  answered…2wks2W

Nobody under 21 should be on the internet outside of school or work

 @BDY25JC from Florida  answered…3wks3W

Social Media has its good and bad sides. It gives people community, something that a lot of kids do not have. But it also has predatory algorithms that push forward harmful content and don't do much to protect users and creators from harmful messages and threats. Using government IDs on these platforms would increase the likeliness of a data breach, leading to more people getting hurt by leaked information.

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

Elizabeth Warren Walks Back Murder Comments

Congressional Democrats broadly denounced the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson Friday morning, after Republicans started accusing Sen. Elizabeth Warren of excusing violence.“No one's condoning this,” said Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.). “Violence never is the right answer for anything. And it was a horrible murder, a tragic loss for his family.” Warren this week condemned the shooting, but added that people “can be pushed only so far.”"We'll say it over and over," Warren said on MSNBC’S “The ReidOut.” " Violence is never the answer. This guy [Luigi Mangione] gets a trial who's allegedly killed the CEO of UnitedHealth, but you can only push people so far, and then they start to take matters into their own hands."In a statement to POLITICO, Warren said, “Violence is never the answer. Period. I should have been much clearer that there is never a justification for murder.” Top Republicans denounced Warren's comments and the walked-back rhetoric, with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) calling it “inappropriate and dangerous.”Some House Democrats asked about the incident on Thursday pivoted the conversation to discuss policy options on health care or gun safety.“I don't really know that this is really a space that Congress normally weighs in on,” said Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas). “But at the end of the day, I think it’s an opportunity, because now people are talking about health care and to talk about the fact that this industry has honestly not been as helpful as it could be.”“Violence is never the answer,” said Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.). “We know that there are people suffering, there’s great challenges in healthcare. There's great challenges, and people have, in fact, been wronged, but a process of governance is the way to address that, not violence.”And Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) who denounced the murder, said the killer should be prosecuted and that “I do know that allegedly a ghost gun was used, and we should also ban ghost guns. There's no reason for them beyond the streets.”

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About This Data

Based on 2.9k responses to this question.

These results come from iSideWith's ongoing political issues survey. We collect over a million responses per day, filter out duplicate and multiple submissions, and break the results down by political party, ideology, age, state, and census demographics (income, race, education, household).

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iSideWith. (2026). “Should the government legally ban children under 16 from using social media platforms?” — Public Opinion Poll Results. Retrieved June 26, 2026, from https://www.isidewith.com/polls/5558446483

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