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In September, The Harris Poll completed a research project on Gen Z’s attitudes towards social media and smartphones with renowned social psychologist and author Jonathan Haidt and his research team. Our teams joined forces again to find out how parents feel, surveying a representative sample of 1,013 U.S. parents aged 18+ with a child under the age of 18 about their experience raising kids in the age of social media and what kinds of reforms they want to see.
Below are some of the key findings from the study:
As children began to receive devices at ever younger ages over the last 15 years, early social media access followed—despite the legal minimum age of 13 for companies to collect data from children without parental consent.
Across all parents, 67% report their child has a smartphone and 65% say the same for a tablet. As anticipated, a large proportion of these families had given their children smartphones and tablets at a young age:
- 81% of those who had already given a smartphone said that they had done so by age 12.
- 42% said their child was the primary or sole user of a Tablet by age 5.
- 15% said their child was the primary or sole user of a smartphone by age 5.
Among kids who currently use Instagram, 51% were doing so before the age of 12, and the same figure holds for Snapchat. For TikTok it was slightly higher (57%).
Perhaps the most notable result was that parents, like Gen Z, expressed considerable regret over digital childhoods. One culprit: social pressure.
- 39% of parents who had already given their child a smartphone said they wish they hadn’t but they felt that they had to give in because so many of their children’s friends already had one.
- 54% felt that they had to give their children social media, because so many other families had already done so.
And many parents believe they gave their kids social media and smartphone access too young. In fact, almost none of the parents surveyed thought they waited too long to give their children access:
Social media:
- 29% of parents thought their children began using social media too young
- 71% of parents thought their children began using social media at an appropriate age
- 1% of parents thought their child began using social media too old
Smartphones:
- 22% of parents thought their children began using smartphones too young
- 77% of parents thought their children began using smartphones at an appropriate age
- 1% of parents thought their child began using smartphones too old
Tablets:
- 17% of parents thought their children began using tablets too young
- 83% of parents thought their children began using tablets at an appropriate age
- 1% of parents thought their child began using tablets too late
Expressions of regret also came through when parents were asked about what consumer products they wish were never invented. The exact question was “When I think about my child’s experience growing up, I wish ____ had never been invented” and the results show that parents view social media in similar ways to alcohol and guns.
- 63% wish that TikTok had never been invented.
- 62% wish that X had never been invented,
- 62% wish that guns were never invented
- 57% wish that alcohol was never invented
- 56% wish that Instagram had never been invented.
- 55% wish social media had never been invented
- 53% wish that Facebook had never been invented.
In contrast, only 9% thought that bicycles had never been invented.
Parents revealed that they do want their children to be able to experience freedom in real-life experiences. 40% of parents with a child ages 6–12 agreed with the statement: “I want to give my child more opportunities to be out with other kids without adult supervision.” Among those with a child ages 13–17, that number rose to 47%.
When it comes to solutions, most parents support reforms to help reduce phones in schools and the availability of social media to young children.
66% of parents said they would like to restrict their child’s access to smartphones until they reach high school (roughly, age 14). 73% said they want to delay social media until at least age 16.
This consensus continued to legislation, with majority support showing up across political lines:
- 70% supported a law requiring social media companies to raise the minimum age of social media from 13 to 16.
- 74% of conservative parents support
- 70% of moderate parents support
- 67% of liberal parents support
- 64% supported schools enforcing a bell-to-bell phone-free school policy—no access to phones from the beginning to the end of the school day, including between classes and at lunch and recess.
- 69% of conservative parents support
- 59% of moderate parents support
- 65% of liberal parents support
Methodology
This survey was conducted online in the United States by The Harris Poll from February 21st, 2025 to February 27th, 2025 among 1,013 U.S. parents aged 18+ with a child under the age of 18. Figures were weighted where necessary to align with actual proportions within the population. For additional information, please contact The Harris Poll.
