Exploitation of children and young people strong contributor to toxic levels of distrust in social media
As the Federal government prepares to introduce legislation that would ban social media for young Australians, analysis of 6 years of data from the Roy Morgan Risk Monitor shows that Australians have long distrusted social media companies and their perceived exploitation of children is a major reason.
Key themes underlying Australia’s mistrust of social media include the lack of regulation, the negative effect on self-esteem, targeting of content towards children, and the addictive nature of the platforms.
The Roy Morgan Risk Monitor contains hundreds of thousands of verbatim comments from more than 130,000 Australians about why they trust or distrust brands they nominate top-of-mind.
Reasons given for distrust of social media companies are often highly emotive. Some examples include:
“Not doing enough to protect kids and young people.” (Instagram)
“Absolutely collecting information, giving kids horrible ideas and self-esteem.” (TikTok)
“Privacy invasion and making addictive technology aimed at kids.” (Meta).
“I disagree with their ethical decisions when producing services that children consume.” (Facebook)
“It does not filter its users. Allows so much to fall through the gaps. Bad for young children. Allows crazies to post.” (Facebook)
“I don't think they are open and honest about what they do with data. I think they use techniques to get people addicted to their platform. I don't believe they do enough to prevent hate speech or bullying or the effect they have on children and teens, especially when it comes to things like body image issues.” (Facebook)
“Facebook like so many social media platforms has become a cowardly breeding ground for trolls, hate focussed groups, bullies and destruction of businesses and individual people and children. Many who seem to use these platforms really do not understand the dangers of the huge risks to their privacy, stolen identities and overall safety.” (Facebook)
“Not doing enough to protect children from unwanted or dangerous content.” (Meta)
“Instagram have been a part of some safety scandals. I do not believe they do what they can to protect children and women from online predators.” (Instagram)
“It’s all fake and younger and younger children are becoming addicted to it.” (TikTok)
Roy Morgan research in 2022 showed that an overwhelming majority of Australians believed that social media creates more problems than it solves.
A snap poll conducted by Roy Morgan in July 2022 showed that less than three in ten (29%) Australians agreed that ‘social media solves more problems than it creates.’ These results were in contrast to public opinion on the internet in general, which showed that almost two thirds (64%) of Australians agreed that ‘the internet solves more problems than it creates.’
Source: Roy Morgan Snap Poll July 2022 Base: Australians 14+, n=1,315.
Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine commented on these findings:
“These results show that the poor behaviour and negative influence of the social media giants has long been an issue of great concern for many Australians. Since we began measuring trust and distrust way back in 2018, social media has consistently been one of the most distrusted industries in the entire economy. The reasons Australians give for distrusting social media brands are some of the most emotive of any industry – it’s visceral. This indicates a level of distrust that shows no signs of diminishing anytime soon.
“While this shows that Australians are concerned and want action on this issue, it isn’t clear whether they want government regulation, a full ban on social media or greater self-regulation from the social media giants themselves.
“The government’s proposed ban on children accessing social media, while aiming to lessen the negative influence of social media among young people, is just one of many possible strategies. There is a strong argument for increased education, to ensure that young people are aware of the dangers of social media and can safely navigate these online spaces.”
To learn more call (+61) (3) 9224 5309 or email askroymorgan@roymorgan.com.
About Roy Morgan
Roy Morgan is Australia’s largest independent Australian research company, with offices in each state, as well as in the U.S. and U.K. A full-service research organisation, Roy Morgan has over 80 years of experience collecting objective, independent information on consumers.
Margin of Error
The margin of error to be allowed for in any estimate depends mainly on the number of interviews on which it is based. Margin of error gives indications of the likely range within which estimates would be 95% likely to fall, expressed as the number of percentage points above or below the actual estimate. Allowance for design effects (such as stratification and weighting) should be made as appropriate.
| Sample Size | Percentage Estimate |
| 40% – 60% | 25% or 75% | 10% or 90% | 5% or 95% | |
| 1,000 | ±3.0 | ±2.7 | ±1.9 | ±1.3 |
| 5,000 | ±1.4 | ±1.2 | ±0.8 | ±0.6 |
| 7,500 | ±1.1 | ±1.0 | ±0.7 | ±0.5 |
| 10,000 | ±1.0 | ±0.9 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 |
| 20,000 | ±0.7 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 |
| 50,000 | ±0.4 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 | ±0.2 |
