Survey finds most Filipino parents favor consultation with children and families, warning that age restrictions alone may be ineffective.
MANILA (November 10) — A proposed blanket ban on social media for children under 18 may fail to address the risks young Filipinos face online if it shuts them out of digital spaces without equipping them to navigate these platforms safely.
This is one of the key messages emerging from a nationwide online survey of 1,113 Filipino parents and guardians, as Congress prepares to reconcile competing versions of a proposed measure regulating children’s use of social media and online gaming.
Conducted by Momentum Research from October 19 to November 2 and commissioned by the Child Rights Network (CRN), the survey examined how parents view the benefits and risks of social media and the proposed restrictions on children’s access.
The findings challenge the assumption that keeping children off social media is necessarily the most effective way to protect them.
While 97 percent of respondents recognized social media’s benefits in helping children communicate with family and friends and acquire new skills, nearly nine in 10 said these platforms also help young people learn about social issues and their rights.
More significantly, nine in 10 respondents believed policies governing children’s social media use should be grounded in evidence rather than rely on outright restrictions.
The survey also highlighted the importance of involving families and children in policymaking. Nine in 10 respondents said parents and guardians should be consulted before a social media ban is imposed, while seven in 10 believed children themselves should be heard.
Eight in 10 warned that regulations developed without the participation of children and parents are more likely to fail.
These views come as the Senate and House of Representatives prepare to reconcile their respective versions of the Children’s Social Media and Online Gaming Safety Bill in a bicameral conference committee. The Senate version includes a proposed blanket prohibition on social media access for those below 18.
But the survey also points to a practical challenge for policymakers: age-based restrictions may be difficult to enforce when children can circumvent account registration requirements.
About 31.2 percent of parents said their children use a different age or birthdate when creating social media accounts. Another 18.5 percent reported that their children maintain multiple accounts on the same platform.
Meanwhile, 26.2 percent said their children created their first social media accounts without adult supervision.
These findings suggest that simply raising age restrictions may not necessarily prevent children from accessing platforms or shield them from online abuse, exploitation and harmful content.
For child protection advocates, the policy challenge is not merely to control children’s access but to ensure that they have the knowledge, guidance and support to recognize online dangers and respond to them.
CRN Convener and Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development Executive Director Au Quilala said the survey underscores the need to invest in online safety education rather than depend primarily on restrictions.
“Children need protection online—but that protection is better realized by equipping children, not by excluding them,” Quilala said.
He called for greater awareness of online risks and stronger efforts to develop children’s capacity to use social media safely and responsibly.
The debate also raises a broader child-rights question: whether policies intended to protect children adequately recognize their right to participate in decisions affecting their lives.
Under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which the Philippines is a State Party, children are entitled not only to protection but also to survival, development and participation.
November, observed as National Children’s Month in the Philippines, provides an opportunity to revisit these obligations as lawmakers consider restrictions that could affect millions of young Filipinos.
The survey does not settle the debate over whether age limits or other forms of regulation are necessary. Nor does recognition of social media’s benefits diminish the serious threats children face from online sexual exploitation, cyberbullying, grooming and exposure to harmful content.
Rather, its findings point to the need for a more comprehensive approach—one that combines enforceable platform safeguards, parental guidance, age-appropriate digital literacy, accessible reporting mechanisms and meaningful participation by children.
As Congress works toward a final version of the bill, the central question is whether the law will simply keep children away from digital platforms or make those platforms safer for them.
For families, the distinction matters: protecting children online should not mean leaving them unprepared for a digital world they are already part of.
