Poll: 76% of U.S. adults don't think kids should be on social media before they turn 13

Kids' social media use has been a hot button topic ever since the U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy criticized the minimum age to join many platforms. Currently, Meta, Twitter and most other platforms allow people to join once they turn 13 — and Murthy says that's too young. Apparently the majority of Americans agree.

A new Yahoo News/YouGov poll of 1,520 adults conducted in May found that a whopping 76% of Americans don't think social media is appropriate for kids under 13 to use. Three-quarters also said they think social media has a negative impact on the mental health of minors — and 44% said social media has a negative impact on their own mental well-being.

When asked what age was appropriate for kids to start using social media, 53% of respondents said between the ages of 14 and 17. According to 32% of those polled, kids should wait until they are at least 18, while 12% said between the ages of 10 and 13 was OK. Just 3% found it acceptable to kids under age 10 to be on social media.

Thea Gallagher, a clinical assistant professor of psychology at NYU Langone Health and co-host of the Mind in View podcast, tells Yahoo Life that the poll findings just make sense. "We now have at least some data to support the fact that social media just really isn't good for kids," she says. "There is a higher risk of mental health symptoms, along with issues with body image, self-esteem and paying attention."

One study of 350,000 student responses across more than 300 colleges found that schools rolling out Facebook was linked with 2% of college students being diagnosed with depression. Research on 220 students from the American Psychological Association also found that teens and young adults who reduced their social media usage by 50% for a few weeks had significant improvement in how they felt about their weight and overall appearance compared to their counterparts who kept using social media at the usual levels. And a study of more than 3,000 7th to 10th graders over four years published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry found that the more time kids spent on screens, the greater their symptoms of anxiety and depression.

"Kids don't have the same ability to regulate their emotions as adults," Gallagher says. As a result, they may be more deeply impacted by things they see on social media or by a lack of likes on a particular post.

Preeti Sandhu, a pediatric psychologist at Connecticut Children’s, tells Yahoo Life that it's important to hold off on giving kids access to social media until they're ready. "We need to be thoughtful in waiting until we can help our children and teens navigate the digital world when they are susceptible to sometimes inaccurate, fleeting and inappropriate information," she says.

If a child shows interest in using social media, it's a good time for parents to start having conversations around how it works and how to use it safely, Adelle Cadieux, a pediatric psychologist at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, tells Yahoo Life. But parents don't necessarily need to allow them to start using it.

"Parents can start the conversation by asking what social media platforms their child is familiar [with] and which ones they would want to join," she says. "As a parent, make sure you become familiar with those social media platforms. This gives you an opportunity to explore the platform and better understand how it is used."

If a child seems interested in social media, Gallagher recommends being honest with them and sharing that the data show it can have a serious negative impact on their mental health. "You can say, 'This isn't forever, but as your parents, we have to do what we feel is best for your health, just as we take you to the doctor and don't let you eat a lot of cookies in one day,'" she says. Gallagher admits that it can be tough if other kids in a child's peer group are on social media. "I recommend finding other parents who are waiting on social media access, too, so you can feel supported," she says.

The Yahoo News/YouGov poll also shed light on how people feel about parents who use social media. While 46% felt it was OK for parents to share photos of their children on social media without their consent, 30% thought otherwise. Meanwhile, just 23% of respondents said social media had made a positive impact on their mental health.

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