federal social media ban gets mixed reviews from montreal teens, experts

the federal government's plan to ban social media for under-16s is getting mixed reaction in montreal, with youth saying they're against it and experts saying it's a step in the right direction, but that it ultimately misses the mark.introduced on wednesday, the long-awaited safe social media act (bill c-34) aims to make social media platforms safer for children as online harms like mental health issues, cyberbullying, self-harm and sexual exploitation continue to rise. it comes after an online harms bill died on the order paper ahead of the 2025 election."we have seen the very serious consequences that online harms can have," marc miller, minister of canadian identity and culture, said in a statement. "as technologies evolve, we must ensure our laws keep pace, because parents cannot face these challenges alone. the safety of children cannot be an afterthought." according to 13-year-old angelina nevin, who said she mainly uses snapchat to interact with her friends, kids aren't happy about the idea of being barred from social media."i feel like i have a good relationship with (my phone)," she said, explaining her parents already manage how much she uses it.trillian hendriks, also 13, mainly uses instagram and tiktok. she said her parents have access to all of her social media accounts, and she worries a ban might push some youth to lesser-known platforms like omegle, which offers video chats with strangers across the world."a lot of young kids go on it, but then they get flashed, which is not great," hendriks said. nevin had similar thoughts. "people are just gonna go crazy and find other ways," she said. that's a concern shared by dr. vincent paquin, a psychiatrist at the jewish general hospital and assistant professor of psychiatry at mcgill university. his research focuses on how digital media shapes the mental health of youth. in addition to potentially being pushed to less regulated platforms, paquin worries youth will also find ways of circumventing age verification mechanisms."those are problems that we are already seeing in australia, where the ban was implemented a few months ago," he said. "by pushing adolescents to other platforms or to using social media in secrecy, we will have less of an ability to supervise and intervene in at-risk situations." another concern is how a ban would affect teens who are already used to being on social media, paquin pointed out."especially if their friends continue to use social media," he said. "those who choose to comply or who are forced to comply will be at a disadvantage relative to their peers who are not complying, because they will be less connected to the online social life of other people their age." while paquin said he's glad the government is beginning to legislate on the issue — and is glad the bill introduces more measures than only an age ban — he wishes the actual design features of online content were targeted."those might be more subtle mechanisms, but they really contribute to a range of potentially harmful exposures online," paquin said. "the algorithms are designed to maximize people's use and capture their attention. this sort of design feature does not fall under the current bill's focus, but it still contributes to problems like a so-called addiction to social media." he said research suggests design-based regulations bring the most benefit. asked about paquin's thoughts on the addictive nature of social media, hendriks pointed out social media platforms are marketed to her age group."grade 7s, grade 8s and even younger, too," she said. "my cousins, they're younger than me and some of them have social media because it's marketed towards them."

despite the age ban being the most dramatic aspect of the government announcement, paquin suspects it's possible it's to force social media platforms to implement the new safety requirements since platforms can be exempted from the ban if they demonstrate they've put in place "sufficient safeguards for children." "my sense is that the government sees this as really a first step of something that's going to be a longer-term iterative process, which, ultimately, i believe is the way to go," paquin said. "it remains challenging to know exactly how to regulate social media companies."he mentioned the proposed creation of a digital safety commission, which the government said would enforce regulations and hold companies accountable, but also research best practices, assess digital safety plans, provide guidance on how to mitigate risk, and develop educational resources for the public. "the government (is equipping) itself with more resources to improve its policy over time," paquin said. he pointed out, however, a balance would need to be found between protecting the well-being of young people and protecting online privacy and freedom of speech."we should follow this with a cautious interest, but overall i see this as a positive move," paquin said. while the federal government debates how best to regulate social media, a quebec pilot project is testing a different approach.qlub École, co-founded by philippe larose cadieux, has spent the past school year piloting a closed social network with grade 6 students. the platform, which is moderated by school staff and inaccessible to outsiders, allows students to share posts, photos and videos while learning about digital literacy and online safety. larose cadieux said several schools are already expressing interest in adopting the platform next year. during an early classroom discussion, larose cadieux said he asked students their opinion about social media.“most of them said it was a bad thing,” he said. but rather than restricting access, larose cadieux believes schools should help students learn how to navigate larger online spaces responsibly.“instead of banning social networks, we should teach kids how to use them," he said. "if a teen goes home and spends four or five hours on their phones and doesn't understand why that is harmful, it doesn't really fix the problem." kthomas@postmedia.comamclaughlin@postmedia.com