Govt seeks guardians´ views on children’s social media use

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is gathering parents’ and other custodians’ views on how children use social media and whether its use should be restricted, said the Ministry in a press release on Friday.

The views will be used by a working group that was set up to find ways to protect children from the harmful effects of social media.

The survey is available from 25 September to 11 October, and it is open to all parents and other custodians of children under 18 years of age. It will also be distributed through schools.

The survey consists of two parts. The first part asks general questions about how children use social media and whether its use should be restricted.

The second part allows respondents to share how their own child or children use social media. Respondents can choose to complete only the general section if they so wish. The survey is available in Finnish, Swedish and English.

“I hope that as many parents and other custodians as possible will respond to the survey, as they see firsthand how social media affects children and young people. They are therefore well placed to share their views on whether the use of social media should be restricted and, if so, how. Last spring, the working group heard the views of children and young people to support its work, and now it is parents’ turn,” said Minister of Social Security Karoliina Partanen in the press release.

The survey will take into account the legislation that the European Union is planning to introduce in order to protect children from the harmful effects of certain online services.

The EU intends to enact legislation on age limits and other safeguards for children and young people in areas such as social media, addictive online games and video services.

“The EU’s plans for restrictive legislation are absolutely worthy of support. If things move forward at EU level, we will also have better opportunities nationally to protect children and young people from the harmful effects of social media,” Partanen added.

At the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health appointed a working group to find ways to better protect children from the harmful effects of social media.

The working group published its interim report in June, and the group’s term will run until the end of 2026.

The preparatory work involves five ministries, along with representatives from the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, the Finnish National Agency for Education and the Finnish Arts and Culture Agency.