The era of the iPad baby

Can we find a middle ground between complete restriction and unfiltered access?

OpinionsIkram Dridi — Published September 30, 2026 0 minutes

Everyone has heard these sentences before. A general consensus among older generations is that children and teenagers today are badly influenced by their constant exposure to electronics and the internet. Their attention spans are declining, which then affects their education, job opportunities and ability to socialize. 

Whether you agree with that sentiment or not, it's, without a doubt, crucial that we find a solution to protect the youth of today from the dangers of a life spent online. 

Thus far, parents seem to be the ones shouldering this burden. They're expected to work with their children to create healthy digital habits and encourage moderation in their use. 

While some encourage completely restricting social media, this doesn't seem to be the right solution. 

To restrict internet access, some argue that age-restriction systems need to be enforced more strictly. For example, age verification ensures users meet the minimum age requirement before accessing the information or service. 

While these discussions focus primarily on age, there's no single universal age safe for social media. That magically "safe" age depends on each child and their unique environment. Parents must make that decision when they think their child is ready. 

This is what I find lacking in the argument for age restriction: first, it's difficult to reach a consensus on what age should be restricted, and second, it risks removing one of the most important ways kids nowadays connect with each other and the world.

This is shown by the impact of free access to the internet on older children—such as preteens and teens. According to Pew Research Center, 74 per cent of teens feel connected with their peers due to social media, and 63 per cent claim that social media platforms are where they primarily show their creativity. 

However, a lack of online consensus on the right course of action doesn't seem to be stopping the government from taking action.

Bill C-34, currently at First Reading, aims to take a firmer stance on protecting kids from digital dangers. If passed, it would establish the Digital Safety Act and introduce new safety requirements for social media and generative artificial intelligence services. Under this act, social media services would be required to implement a minimum age to create an account.

But while protecting our nation’s youth is certainly a top priority, these bills and acts seem to be overlooking the rest of the population who use the internet for business, community and education.

Additionally, if the bill passes, a Digital Safety Commission of Canada would be established. It would be responsible for administering the internet, setting age-verification measures and creating age-appropriate design features under the Duty to Act Responsibly. This would include blocking, flagging and labelling tools, amongst other tasks. 

These big moves may seem promising, but the solution shouldn’t be to create a foundation for internet censorship. Removing children from social media and the internet in general feels impossible in our day and age. Finding a solution that won’t compromise adults' privacy or create internet censorship feels even further away. 

Kids may not be discovering the world the same way previous generations did, but that doesn't mean they aren't discovering it at all. Instead of trying to shield them entirely from that world, we should figure out how to help them navigate it more safely.