Gen Z was raised on social media - now they’re asking for limits

It is a moment of reckoning, not just for children, but for adults too.

Our polling reveals a surprising twist: Gen Z, the first generation raised on social media, is increasingly uneasy about the technology that has shaped their lives.

We found 62 per cent of young Britons believe social media does more harm than good for young people. Four in five say they would try to keep their own children off social media for as long as possible, with regret over childhood screen time widespread.

Probably most striking is that young people don't just see this as their struggle. Nearly half of Gen Z say their parents are just as bad, if not worse, when it comes to mobile phone addiction. As Ethan, 19, one of our focus group participants said, "I'm always kicking off with my dad if we're watching a film and he's on his phone; they're on it more than me."

Parents worry about their children's screen time, but their children worry about theirs too.

So this isn't, as is sometimes portrayed, just an issue of parental concern or mum and dad projecting their own anxieties onto their children. Gen Z have lived their lives through social media - and they don't like how it's turned out.

They say it’s become more toxic, more addictive and more harmful. And while efforts to regulate have long been met with industry resistance, this polling flips the script: the very users these platforms rely on are also asking for stronger protections for the next generation.

They know that parental rules are easily circumvented - 84 per cent admit to having bypassed restrictions at home when they were younger—and that self-control is no match for algorithms designed to hook people in.

And it's not just young people and parents who want change. Our polling last month shows this concern cuts across all age and political divides.

Three-quarters of Gen Z want stronger social media protections for children, but so do voters across the spectrum. This isn't a niche issue, it’s a broad public demand for action.

If even the first fully digital generation is pushing back, that tells us something. Today’s bill may not deliver everything campaigners had hoped for, but it marks a significant shift - one that politicians must now build on.

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Anna McShane is Director of The New Britain Project.

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