Survey shows half of young people want social media curfew

Author Moonshot.news

Published on: 21/05/2025

Half (47%) of young people aged 16 to 21 would prefer to be young in a world without the internet. 50% also say a social media curfew would improve their lives, according to a UK survey by BSI, the UK’s national standards body. A new US survey by the Pew Research Center shows that roughly half of teens (48%) say social media sites have a mostly negative effect on people their age, up from 32% in 2022. But fewer (14%) think they negatively affect them personally.

BSI research shows that 74% of young people believe that they spend more time online as a result of the Covid pandemic with two-thirds spending more than two hours on social media every day. 68% said they felt worse about themselves after spending time online

“The survey indicates that parents are being left in the dark by their children’s online activities, with 42% admitting to lying to their parents or guardians about what they do online”, the BSI report says. 

“Over a quarter (27%) say they have pretended to be a different person online and 42% say they have pretended to be a different age.  A further 40% admit to having set up a fake or decoy account.”

“Technology can only be a force for good if it is underpinned by trust that people’s privacy, security, safety and wellbeing will not be compromised in the process. The companies creating these services must prioritize the needs of end-users of all ages, especially adolescents, to ensure their health and privacy are protected”, Susan Taylor Martin, Chief Executive, BSI said in a comment to the survey.

The survey shows that over a quarter (26%) spend four hours or more on social media, while a fifth spend three hours or more gaming. In contrast, around half (49%) spend less than two hours a day on hobbies like dance, drama or team sports.

79% say technology companies should be required by law to build robust privacy safeguards into technology and platforms used by children and teenagers, such as age verification or identity checks. 

“This is particularly striking given that 43% admit they began using social media before age 13 (the legal age to do so)”, the BSI report says.

Young women report higher exposure to harassment (37% vs 28% of young men) and are more likely to compare their appearance or lifestyle to others, with 85% doing this at least sometimes and nearly half (49%) doing so often or very often. 

Young women are also more likely to set up fake or decoy accounts (43% vs 36%), and 79% have been influenced to purchase something because of social media (e.g. TikTok), compared to 59% of males.

The Pew Research Center says its latest survey of US teens ages 13 to 17 and their parents finds that parents are generally more worried than their children about the mental health of teenagers today.

“And while both groups call out social media’s impact on young people’s well-being, parents are more likely to make this connection.” 

Key findings from the Pew survey:

• More teens report spending too much time on social media: 45% of teens say they spend too much time on social media in our current survey, up from 36% in 2022.
• Girls’ experiences on social media skew more negative, at times: Teen girls are more likely than boys to say social media hurt their mental health (25% vs. 14%), confidence (20% vs. 10%) or sleep (50% vs. 40%).
• A majority of teens see social media as a positive space for friendships and creativity: 74% of teens say these platforms make them feel more connected to their friends, and 63% say they give them a place to show off their creative side.
• Teens and parents have different comfort levels talking about teen mental health: 80% of parents say they’re extremely or very comfortable talking to their teen about their teen’s mental health. Smaller shares of teens (52%) feel the same way.
• Social media as a mental health resource: 34% of teens say they at least sometimes get information about mental health on social media.