7 in 10 Mass. Residents Want to Kick Kids Off Social Media

If you've ever wrestled a phone away from your kid at the dinner table, you already know what the research is confirming.

I have five kids. I see firsthand what too much screen time does to their attitude, their focus, and honestly their mood. So when I saw this poll out of the University of New Hampshire, I wasn't exactly shocked by the numbers, but I was glad the number so high in favor

72% of Massachusetts residents support a bill that would ban kids under 14 from social media entirely, and require parental consent for 14 and 15-year-olds before they can even create an account. Only 17% said they were against it. -berkshireeagle.com

The Massachusetts House already voted on this, and it wasn't close. On April 8, lawmakers passed the bill 129-25. It doesn't stop at social media either. The legislation also includes a bell-to-bell cellphone ban in public schools, something teachers across the state have been asking for.

Gov. Healey's addition

Then Governor Maura Healey came in with her own version, going even further. Her proposal would extend social media restrictions to anyone under 18 and directly target the addictive algorithms that keep kids glued to their screens in the first place.

If the House bill becomes law, platforms like TikTok and Instagram would have to delete accounts belonging to kids under 14 and wipe their personal data by October 1, 2026.

The bill now heads back to the Senate, which passed its own version last summer. That one only covered the phone ban in schools though, not the social media piece. Lawmakers will need to work out the differences before anything gets to the governor's desk.