Four out of five parents support the recent Meta settlement that will implement new restrictions on teens’ Instagram and Facebook accounts, according to a new poll.
Parents also told the pollsters they want to see states enact similar policies to protect kids online.
The poll, commissioned by the Coalition to Empower our Future and shared first with The Washington Times, found that 81% of 1,000 parents surveyed nationwide support the restrictions Meta agreed to implement as part of a settlement agreement with 47 state attorneys general.
The question prompting that response identified key aspects of the agreement: daily screen time limits for users under age 18, nighttime blocks between midnight and 6 a.m., muted push notifications during school hours, revamped age verification checks and expanded parental controls.
Only 13% of parents responded that they opposed the settlement agreement, while 6% said they were unsure.
The support and opposition fell fairly consistently along party lines, with only a few percentage points difference between Republican and Democratic parents’ responses to any question.
“There’s no single solution to the challenges young people are facing, but giving parents more tools and helping young people build healthier habits with technology are important pieces of a broader, comprehensive approach,” Coalition to Empower our Future Executive Director Glen Weiner said.
The coalition includes mental health experts and nonprofits, parents, youth, educators, policymakers and industry leaders to advocate for policies to improve youth mental health.
Meta is listed as one of the coalition’s partners alongside several nonprofit groups, such as After-School All-Stars, The Trevor Project and Girls on the Run.
The poll asked whether specific components of the settlement would have a positive impact on youth mental health and well-being, and a majority of parents agreed all would.
Expanded parental controls to limit the type and amount of content children see was ranked the highest, with 82% of parents saying that would have a positive impact on their kids’ mental health.
The lowest-ranked item on the list was limits on social comparison features, such as “likes,” with 66% of parents believing that would have a positive impact.
Overall, 84% of parents said they support other social media companies implementing the same measures.
“Parents want practical tools that help them keep their kids safe online, and they want those tools no matter what platform their kids are on,” Mr. Weiner said, urging other social media platforms to get on board.
The settlement makes $5 billion of the up to $17.1 billion payout to states contingent on Meta’s main competitors — Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube — adopting similar policies.
The poll also found that 80% of the parents support states enacting laws requiring social media platforms to implement the online safety measures, with 67% saying they would be more likely to support elected officials who advance such policies.
The Meta settlement was announced on Aug. 26. The poll was conducted Aug. 28-31.
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