Australians throw support behind introducing social media age restrictions, Deloitte report shows

Many Australians are supportive of introducing an age ban on children being able to access popular social media platforms.

TikTok is one of the most popular social media platforms globally. Picture: Sebastien Bozon/AFP

An overwhelming majority of Australians support the introduction of new social media age restrictions to protect children aged 16 and under, a comprehensive report has found.

Deloitte’s annual Media and Entertainment Consumer Insights report, to be released on Monday, shows 90 per cent of consumers want tougher restrictions to limit younger Australians’ access to popular social media platforms.

The report, which surveyed more than 2000 Australians, found 70 per cent of respondents who live with children are concerned about the impact social media is having on their wellbeing, including physical and mental health.

A majority (56 per cent) of respondents are in favour of a range of new social media restrictions including blanket bans on account ownership and restricting how platforms use data and algorithms (44 per cent) and regulating the time people spend on social media (39 per cent).

In September the federal government announced it would introduce legislation later this year to impose a minimum age for children to access social media and other digital platforms.

The report also shows Generation Z (people born between 1996 and 2012) spend 10 hours and 5 minutes a week on social media, down from 12 hours and 45 minutes a week in 2023.

The report says the top three social media platforms used by Australians are Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

It says about one in two people (46 per cent) regularly spend more time on social media than they planned.