Social media ban sparks loneliness concerns among Finnish teenagers

Most Finnish teens fear that a possible social media ban would increase their loneliness, according to a recent survey reported by the broadcaster Yle on Thursday.

The study was conducted by Social Affairs and Health Ministry groups among around 61,000 children and young people aged between 11 and 19.

One-third of 11- to 13-year-olds and more than half of 13- to 19-year-olds said they would feel lonely more often without access to social media, while some said their contact with relatives would decrease in such a case.

The survey found that 29% of 11- to 13-year-olds and 47% of 13- to 19-year-olds report using social media between three and five hours per day. Meanwhile, 7% of the younger group and 17% of the older group report using it more than five hours a day.

The survey also found that respondents believed they would exercise and sleep more, as well as spend more time meeting friends face-to-face, if they did not use social media.

About a quarter of 11- to 13-year-olds said they believed a universal age limit would be a good idea, while one-third of older respondents shared the same view.

In the meantime, more than half of the children and young people surveyed said they would find ways to bypass age restrictions to access social media if the minimum age limit was set above their own age.