REGINA — The provincial government is officially launching its survey of Saskatchewan residents on a potential social media ban for those under age 16.
Premier Scott Moe and Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Lori Carr announced the survey Tuesday morning at the legislature. The mail-outs will consist of survey response postcards being sent to every household across the province.
The pre-stamped postcards will include two 'yes or no' questions: do you support social media limits for children under the age of 16, and if no, do you support parental consent for social media usage under age 16.
The third question asked if yes, if any social media platforms should be exempt from the list, listing Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok or other as options.
A fourth question asked what age social media limits should be imposed for youth, with respondents able to write in that age.
In speaking to reporters, Premier Moe once again pointed to a recent Angus Reid poll that showed that nationally, 70 per cent of Canadian parents with children at home support a full ban or full limitation on social media for children under 16.
“We want to know what Saskatchewan people think. Specifically, we want to know what Saskatchewan parents and families think. And so I would say this directly to families and parents across this province. Your input is important, and we most certainly are asking for it. It's going to help us frame and inform our provincial position and our provincial discussions with the federal government as they are very open to considering the trajectory or the path that they are going to take nationally on this issue.”
Moe said the surveys will come back to the government, and they will compile that information. He said that will “be the provincial position as we negotiate and talk to and converse with the federal government.”
At the news conference Moe framed “youth exposure to social media platforms” as one of the root issues creating some of the mental health challenges seen today.
“We have seen all too often cases of cyberbullying, body image pressures, mental health issues like loneliness and depression that have been exasperated, exposures to dangerous content online, and so much more,” Moe said.
Minister Carr echoed the concerns about social media use.
“I think we've all heard horror stories of kids being bullied or abused in online platforms, sometimes with pretty tragic consequences. These behaviours can affect self-esteem and hurt relationships. Young people are particularly vulnerable. We want to know how parents and families feel about possible limits on social media.
"And if so, where is the line drawn? We've heard comments from parents who want the flexibility to decide their child's access to social media. We've heard from others who would like to support the support to have limits placed on access to social media.”
The survey, which comes at a price tag upwards of $500,000 if all the responses are returned, comes soon after Manitoba’s announcement that they planned to impose a ban on social media for kids.
But Manitoba is skipping the step of sending out a survey to residents, instead relying on expert opinions for their position. When asked why a survey was needed, Moe emphasized they wanted to hear from families.
He pointed to the potential social media ban being “a federal initiative that's taking place at this point in time. We want to hear directly from Saskatchewan families and how they feel about the path forward on what limits might look like and how they feel about those limits.”
Moe added that the province thinks it would be “much more effective to have this conversation nation-wide. If we do land in a space where, from our perspective, it's supported by Saskatchewan parents, which may be the expectation of some, but if we do land in this space, we have a much larger chance of making any type of limits and to what degree those limits might be much more impactful and effective, not just for Saskatchewan families and Saskatchewan youth, but the entirety of us as a nation.”
Moe said this survey will help with the “nuances” of how social media limits might take place.
“I likely sense, or I do sense that there is… support to have some movement in the limitation of social media to youth. At what age, I'm not sure. What platforms, I'm not sure. You know, for what period of time, I'm not sure. So this will help us with some of the nuances on representing the people across this province. And at the end of the day, as I say, it may end up with either a national limitation, a national plus maybe some provincial limitations. But ultimately, at the end of the day, through that conversation, our hope is that it's effective. Wherever we land is effective and is representative of the families that, in our case, we represent in this province. “
But there are still many questions about how such a social media ban on youth could be carried out — such as whether mandatory age verification might be brought in.
Again, Moe said, “herein lies the nuances that may be part of the discussion we had as to why we want to ask Saskatchewan families and parents is, you know, at what age? Do you agree with the limit of any kind on youth? At what age should that occur? Are there specific platforms that you view as being, you know, potentially more harmful than others? Should there be a 30-minute opening for that in a day, or should there be restrictions on the amount? So it gets into a much more nuanced conversation.
“What we've tried to do is boil it down to three questions with an opportunity to comment. And I think at this point what we're really asking for is for, you know, families and parents to return the survey so that we can compile that data and properly represent them. Because there are – it's not as simple as saying, we're just going to ban social media for youth under 16. There's more nuanced conversation.”
In speaking to reporters the opposition New Democrats had a cautious approach to Moe’s announcement.
NDP Justice critic Nicole Sarauer acknowledged social media is a concern raised by some parents, but added, “We also know that this won't be a magic wand to fix what is a high level of mental health struggles in our youth right now.”
Sarauer said they will be “watching it closely to see what the government does.” She added that the NDP is “in the process right now of reaching out to stakeholders, concerned families, experts to come forward.”
Sarauer also found it interesting that the government was even going ahead with a survey.
“So the fact that they're even considering consulting is a new step for them, that's for sure. I will say I understand that the process that they're doing will be a bit costly. We, of course, want to ensure that the government's focus is on making sure that there is mental health treatment spaces available for our youth. We know that that's not readily accessible right now.”
