Some parents who limit their children's social media use believe a proposed government ban would significantly enhance their protection efforts. They cite peer pressure and hidden access via school computers as major challenges.

Growing calls for federal action follow a New Mexico court ruling against Meta for alleged harm to children's mental health and concealment of child exploitation. A recent Canada-wide survey indicated three-quarters of respondents favor a ban, similar to Australia's restrictions on platforms for youth under 16.

Jennifer Gill, a mother of three, has kept her youngest children, aged 12 to 14, off social media since they were young, a decision prompted by its negative impact on her eldest daughter's mental health.

She worries about age-inappropriate content, including explicit imagery and violent videos. "The government's not doing a very good job of letting parents know the harm. It's just being normalized," Gill stated, highlighting concerns like sextortion as a "public safety emergency for youth."

Even with home supervision, Gill notes the difficulty in controlling exposure once children are out of sight.

"As soon as they get on the school bus, they sit next to somebody with a smartphone who can show them anything," she said, describing potential exposure to pornography and violent videos.

Rebecca Snow, founder of Unplugged Canada, advocates for delaying smartphone access until at least 14. She draws parallels to regulations on drinking and smoking, suggesting age limits for social media are warranted given mounting evidence of its negative effects.

Snow has faced challenges setting boundaries, especially when parents only recognize the harm after providing devices. Her 12-year-old daughter, Lyra, has faced peer pressure to conform.

Lyra admitted to initially not understanding the risks of personal information theft and other dangers. While now more accepting, past conflicts arose over the rules.

"It sucks as parents that we're the ones who have to do something," Snow said. "And that's why we would love to see legislation around this, because it shouldn't really all be in our hands."

Snow is concerned about social media's impact on her children's mental health, including "attention fragmentation" and reduced attention spans.

Even with her awareness, Snow has struggled to prevent her daughter from accessing social media-like content. Lyra’s use of CapCut, a video editing app by ByteDance (TikTok's parent company), led to her scrolling through TikTok-style videos. "I didn't realize that's what this was," Snow recounted, adding, "It's quite exhausting as a parent."

Federal Liberal party members have passed a resolution supporting a ban, and Culture Minister Marc Miller indicated the government is seriously considering it. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew announced his provincial government would move to ban social media and AI chatbot use for children.

Kinew described these tools as designed to exploit children's reward systems, contributing to anxiety, depression, and exploitation.