Americans may be increasingly wary of social media's effects, particularly on children, but they are not ready to give up the platforms themselves.
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows a striking tension in the country's relationship with social media: 61% of Americans want stronger government oversight of social media companies, while 70% still say using the platforms is fun. More than half, 52%, also acknowledge that they spend too much time on social media.
That combination suggests the political debate over Big Tech is moving beyond whether Americans like social media. Increasingly, the question is whether voters believe companies such as Meta, TikTok, YouTube and Snapchat can be trusted to police themselves, especially when children are involved.
The Reuters/Ipsos survey found broad bipartisan support for intervention. Seventy-one percent of Democrats and 62% of Republicans said social media companies need firmer oversight. Support for one of the most aggressive proposals was even stronger: 66% of Americans backed laws requiring platforms to verify users' ages and prevent children under 16 from opening accounts.
Republicans were actually more supportive of age verification than Democrats, with 74% backing such requirements, compared with 69% of Democrats.
The findings are notable at a moment when social media regulation has become one of the relatively rare areas where voters from both parties appear willing to accept more government involvement.
Concern over children appears to be driving much of that consensus.
An overwhelming 85% of respondents said social media can be addictive for children, while a similarly large share said it can damage children's mental health.
Yet the poll also illustrates why regulating the industry has proven politically and practically difficult. Adults themselves remain deeply attached to the products.
Seventy percent said spending time on social platforms is fun, compared with just 35% who said it causes them stress. At the same time, slightly more than half admitted they believe they spend too much time on them.
In other words, Americans increasingly appear to view social media much like other products that are enjoyable but potentially harmful when overused: something they want access to, while also expecting guardrails around it.
States are moving faster than Washington
Public opinion is shifting as courts and state governments increasingly test how far authorities can go in regulating young people's online lives.
More than a dozen states have adopted measures restricting minors' access to social media, although technology industry groups have repeatedly challenged those laws on First Amendment grounds.
The legal landscape remains unsettled.
In June, a federal appeals court allowed Ohio to enforce a law requiring websites likely to be accessed by children under 16 to verify users' ages, reversing an earlier ruling that had blocked the measure.
In July, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to block a Texas law requiring app stores and developers to verify users' ages and obtain parental consent before minors download apps. The litigation over the law is continuing.
Other states have faced setbacks. A federal judge blocked a Virginia law earlier this year that would have required age verification and limited children under 16 to one hour of social media use per day.
Congress, meanwhile, still has not enacted comprehensive federal legislation regulating children's use of social media, though a House committee reached a bipartisan agreement in June on proposed youth online-safety rules.
The new polling also arrives during an especially difficult period for Meta.
A New Mexico court ordered the Facebook and Instagram parent company last week to pay $567 million into a teen mental-health fund and impose additional protections for young users after finding the company responsible for harming children's well-being. Meta has said it plans to appeal.
The ruling requires measures including stronger age verification, limits on notifications during nighttime and school hours and restrictions on interactions between minors and certain adult accounts.
Meta also faces another major trial beginning this week involving allegations from multiple states that its platforms were designed in ways that contributed to addiction among young users. Meta denies those allegations and has emphasized the safeguards it has introduced for teenagers.
The Reuters/Ipsos survey was conducted online among 4,505 U.S. adults over six days ending Aug. 3 and has a margin of error of about two percentage points.
