72% of Massachusetts Voters Support Social Media Ban for Kids Under 14

New polling results show strong support among voters for legislation restricting social media use among kids and teens.

The Bay State Poll released Thursday and conducted by The University of New Hampshire Survey Center found 72% of respondents either somewhat or strongly support legislation banning social media use for all kids under 14 and requiring parental consent for children aged 14 to 15. On April 8, the House voted 129-25 to pass a bill with those provisions (H 5366) that also bans student cellphone use during the school day. 

Pollsters found 17% of respondents were strongly or somewhat opposed to the social media restrictions. Meanwhile, 7% of respondents were neutral or expressed no opinion and 4% were unsure. Support was strongest among independent respondents, with 89% saying they strongly or somewhat supported the legislation, according to the poll. Democrat and Republican respondents expressed similar levels of support with 68% of Democrats and 65% of Republicans saying they strongly or somewhat support it. 

Republican respondents expressed more opposition to the bill with 22% saying they strongly oppose it and 3% reporting they are somewhat opposed. Pollsters found 11% of Democrat respondents strongly opposed the legislation and 6% were somewhat against it. 

The poll was based on survey responses from 721 Massachusetts residents, including members of a probability-based web panel of Bay Staters, between April 16 and April 20. The margin of the survey’s sampling error is plus or minus 3.6%. Pollsters also asked respondents about upcoming elections and several initiative petitions making their way to the 2026 ballot.

Less than a week after the House passed its bill, Gov. Maura Healey unveiled her own legislation, filed within a supplemental budget (H 5377), that limits social media use for users under 18 and requires parental consent to change default settings for users who are 15 years and younger. Healey said her social media proposal is “complimentary” to the House bill. 

Healey’s proposal bans addictive algorithms that target content towards young users based on what they’ve previously viewed. Representatives added language to the final House bill also aimed at addressing addictive feeds and protecting certain vulnerable groups.