SEOUL, September 01 (AJP) -More than seven in 10 South Koreans favor age-based limits on minors' access to social media, showed a poll that may influence whether Seoul joins governments around the world in tightening restrictions on children's use of social media.
According to a report by the Korea Press Foundation's Media Research Center, 70.7 percent of respondents supported restricting social media use based on age, while 29.3 percent opposed such a policy.
Of the total, 28.7 percent said they strongly supported restrictions and 42 percent said they somewhat supported them. The report, titled Public Perceptions of Creating a Safe Social Media Environment for Youth, was published Tuesday.
The survey found a sharp generational divide. Among teenagers aged 14 to 18, only 41 percent supported age-based restrictions, compared with 59 percent who opposed them.
By contrast, 77.5 percent of adults with children aged 5 to 18 and 78.3 percent of adults without children in that age group supported the restrictions. The online survey was conducted from Aug. 14 to 19 among 1,000 people aged 14 to 58.
The findings come as countries step up efforts to protect minors online. Australia has required major social media platforms since Dec. 10, 2025, to take reasonable steps to prevent users under 16 from creating or maintaining accounts, with platforms facing penalties of up to 54.6 million dollars for noncompliance.
Britain announced in June that it would also bar social media companies from providing services to children under 16, with the rules expected to take effect in spring 2027.
The government also plans default restrictions on personalized feeds, autoplay and overnight use for 16- and 17-year-olds.
The European Union, rather than imposing a bloc-wide age ban, has issued guidelines under the Digital Services Act calling for minors' accounts to be private by default, safer recommendation systems and the disabling of features such as autoplay and push notifications that can encourage excessive use.
The Korean survey, however, suggested that respondents did not see age restrictions as the only solution. When asked whether greater emphasis should be placed on limiting access or making platforms themselves safer, 59.8 percent chose stronger platform responsibility, compared with 40.2 percent who prioritized age-based access restrictions. Among teenagers, 72 percent favored making platform features and environments safer.
More than nine in 10 respondents also said social media companies were responsible for safely managing minors' privacy settings, preventing exposure to harmful content and examining how recommendation algorithms affect young users.
“The Democratic Party has introduced a bill aimed at regulating teenagers’ use of social media and is discussing additional legislation,” said Rep. Kim Hyun of the Democratic Party, a member of the National Assembly’s Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee.
AJP Takeaways
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More than 70% of South Koreans support age-based social media restrictions for minors, but teenagers are far less supportive. A Korea Press Foundation survey found 70.7 percent of respondents favored age limits on children's social media use, while only 41 percent of teenagers aged 14 to 18 supported such restrictions.
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South Koreans favor making social media platforms safer over simply banning minors from accessing them. Nearly 60 percent of respondents said stronger platform responsibility should take priority over age-based restrictions, with 72 percent of teenagers supporting safer social media features and environments.
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South Korea is considering tighter social media rules for teenagers as Australia, Britain and the European Union strengthen online child-safety policies. Democratic Party lawmakers are discussing legislation on minors' social media use, while governments overseas are imposing age limits and restrictions on algorithms, autoplay, personalized feeds and other potentially addictive features.
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