Gen-Z Pledges: No Social Media for Their Kids

According to a survey, Generation Z members are growing increasingly disenchanted with social media, and eight out of ten say they will prohibit their kids from using it for as long as they can.

Among those between 16 and 24 years old, half express frustration with the time spent on phones during childhood, while one-third believe they should have delayed accessing online platforms.

Generation Z, comprising individuals born from 1996 to 2010, are the first cohort to have been immersed in the digital world right from early childhood.

Luke Tryl, who leads the polling firm More In Common and conducted the study, commented, "A significant number of Generation Z individuals in Britain express remorse for the time they dedicated to using their gadgets."

'The demand for the Government to take action to better protect children from the harms of social media spans young Britons and the public at large.'

The research, involving over 1,600 young adults and conducted alongside the think tank The New Britain Project, revealed that seven out of ten participants desire stricter regulations to protect youth.

Furthermore, social media was cited as the greatest detriment to the psychological well-being of adolescents.

Meanwhile, half of those polled said social media had become worse in the past five years with two-thirds saying it had become less safe.

Overall, women expressed more negativity towards social media compared to men.

The research has been published as MPs prepare to debate a private members' Bill from Labour MP Josh MacAlister that looks at boosting smartphone safety for children.

The proposed Safer Phones legislation would require the government to develop a plan for researching how social media usage affects children. According to Anna McShane, director of The New Britain Project, "These poll results leave absolutely no ambiguity."

We oversee various sectors that can endanger youth; why should social media be an exception? By not taking action today, we would be disregarding the concerns of the same generation that has endured these adverse impacts.

The results of this research follow recent polling by Girlguiding, the UK's largest youth organisation, that found more than a quarter of teenagers have seen a sexualised deepfake of a celebrity, friend or teacher.

Deepfakes are images or videos generated by artificial intelligence using the faces of real-world people.

About 58 percent of 13-year-olds reported being aware of deepfakes, with this figure increasing to 62 percent among all teens. A representative from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology stated, "Our commitment is to safeguard young individuals in digital spaces while allowing them to take advantage of new technological advancements."

'By the summer, robust new protections for children will be in force through the Online Safety Act to protect them from harmful content and ensure they have an age-appropriate experience online.

'The Government's response to the private members' Bill will follow during the second reading of the Bill, as per the parliamentary process.'

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