Should kids under 16 be banned from social media and AI? We asked teens

What would it mean to log an entire generation off social media and AI?

The nationwide debate is evolving quickly from hypothetical to political reality.

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After Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew announced plans to make his province the first in Canada to ban social media and AI chatbots for young teens, New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt said her government is also watching the idea closely.

The push follows a federal Liberal Party vote earlier this month to back a resolution that would ban youth under 16 from using social media platforms and AI chatbots.

Supporters of the measure point to mounting concerns about harm. “These technologies have been shown to limit desire for interaction with peers, push some young people into sexual conversations and have even recommended suicide to vulnerable youth,” the resolution states.

If adopted, the proposed law could mirror a similar Australian law passed last year; one that inspired similar proposals in Malaysia, Denmark, France and the UK.

As policymakers weigh the risks and benefits, Broadview asked four teens under the age of 16: How would you feel about a government-mandated ban on social media and AI?

Xander Pease, 11, Parkminster United Church member in Waterloo, Ont.

“I don’t use any social media yet, but I’ve seen what social media and AI can do, and I think a ban is a good idea. I think it could help by lowering cyberbullying and things like that. A lot of people in my school right now use AI to read or write an article for them, so they would need to be doing a lot more work themselves if they didn’t use AI.

Teachers can teach us how to use these things correctly, so by the time we get to 16 and we start to use it, we’ll know how to use it properly.

A ban is probably going to affect how kids communicate with each other. If they don’t have social media, they will have to find other platforms to send messages. They will probably find other apps to use.”

Zoe Gue, 13, First United Church member in Ottawa

“I don’t have a phone, so the social media ban wouldn’t affect me too deeply. My teachers say you can use Chat GPT, but not to make your ideas. So yes, to ask if a phrase is correct, but not to do an evaluation for me.

Social media is a cool thing; it has cool people on it, but also really bad people. I got on it at 13, about three months ago. I think [a ban] is a great idea. Everyone in school— they are 24/7 watching videos on the phone. You’re not allowed [to use] your phone in classes. But they’re like: ‘Oh, I’m just going to watch TikTok while my teacher’s talking because I don’t feel like listening.’ So, I think it’s a good idea to have a ban.

If there is a ban, I think I’m going to go outside more. Everyone will talk to each other more. It’s kind of hard to make friends right now; I can’t even talk because they’re all looking at their phones. I think that it would help us understand ourselves better and everything else better.”

Genessa Adeel, 13, Trinity Presbyterian Church member in Toronto

“I would kind of feel uneasy about the ban because now, when I’m at school, and my teacher tells us something that I don’t understand, I can come home and ask ChatGPT: ‘Hey, what was she asking or what was she saying?’ and then it just tells me and I understand it so much more.

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I would partly support the ban because students need to be more focused during class, but I think limited use during breaks could also be allowed. ChatGPT and social media help us learn more, and it keeps us up to date with news trends and world content.”

Axel Modeste, 13, Paroisse Assomption de Notre-Dame Church member in Oshawa, Ont.

“The ban is not really a good idea because when governments tend to ban things, people always find a way around it. I also get a lot of my information from social media, and I know a lot of people who use it and really like it, so they would probably try to bypass the ban.

I don’t use ChatGPT as much as I used to, because I’ve realized the information isn’t always 100% accurate. So I’d feel kind of conflicted if they did ban ChatGPT and other chatbots because on the one hand, it can feed misinformation, but on the other hand, a lot of people rely on it now.

Personally, I wouldn’t support a full ban, because we actually learn a lot from social media. For example, in science and English classes, we would use a bunch of YouTube videos that would elaborate on topics. I feel like some social media should be banned and others shouldn’t.

What the government should do is change social attitudes so that social media doesn’t become widely accepted and recommended.”

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Ashely Crouch is an intern at Broadview.