The internet was hailed as one of the most impactful inventions in human history. It was supposed to bring us all together and offer unprecedented access to information. But something happened.
For the first generation that has never known life without the internet, many are beginning to question whether all that connectivity is even worth it. For millions of young people, the internet (and social media, in particular), bleeds into every corner of their lives. It shapes their friendships, memories, even their sense of self. In a survey carried out in the UK, almost half the people aged 16 to 21 would prefer to be young in a world without the internet.
Teenagers want a different world
The new report was released by BSI (British Standards Institution), based on a survey of 1,300 young people aged 16 to 21. According to the report, 45% of adolescents spend three or more hours a day on social media. Over a third spend more than two hours a day gaming. In contrast, 49% report spending less than two hours a day on physical hobbies like sports or music, and 38% say the same about time spent in person with friends or family outside of school.
Image from the study.
The pandemic only accelerated this digital immersion. It also drove teenagers to be riskier with their internet behavior.
“Our findings show that three quarters of young people say Covid-19 drove them to spend more time online, and that this cohort live, study and socialize in this space. They are optimistic about their ability to protect themselves, with 61% saying they are extremely or very confident of how to check and change online privacy settings. Yet they are also engaging in risky behaviours such as location sharing.”
Yet in this hyper-connected world, there’s tension between digital life and well-being. Nearly half (47%) of respondents said they would prefer to be young in a world without the internet. This was particularly the case for female respondents. More than one in four (27%) teenagers said they wished social media didn’t exist at all.
Image from the study.
This dissonance reflects a growing unease. For all its benefits, the internet’s omnipresence is starting to feel like a trap. What’s even more striking isn’t just what young people do online — but what kind of change they would like to see.
The kids want companies to step up
Almost 80% of respondents say tech companies should be legally required to build robust privacy safeguards into platforms used by teens and children. That includes age verification systems and identity checks. Half of all respondents want stricter age verification across social media platforms. Nearly one-third (32%) want similar safeguards for AI-powered smart assistants like Alexa and Siri. And in a surprising show of self-awareness, 48% say they want support on how to keep themselves safe online.
Even hot-button ideas, like banning phones in schools or instituting curfews for social media, gained traction. Over a quarter of respondents backed the idea of phone bans during school hours. One in five (22%) said their lives would be better without online gaming.
Let’s put it like this: how often have you heard teenagers say they want more controls on themselves?
We’re not talking about parental control. These are calls for systemic change — embedded, automated protections built into the technologies themselves.
Where do we go from here?
“The younger generation was promised technology that would create opportunities, improve access to information and bring people closer to their friends. Yet our research shows that alongside this, it is exposing young people to risk and, in many cases, negatively affecting their quality of life,” says Susan Taylor Martin, Chief Executive at the BSI, which published the report. We’re seeing the two sides of communication technology in full swing, she adds.
“Technology can only be a force for good if it is underpinned by trust that people’s privacy, security, safety and wellbeing will not be compromised in the process. The companies creating these services must prioritize the needs of end-users of all ages, especially adolescents, to ensure their health and privacy are protected.”
The tension at the heart of the adolescent experience — the push and pull between empowerment and exposure — will only grow sharper as AI, immersive technologies, and more invasive data-tracking tools are become widespread. We, as a society, are dropping the ball. We’ve let the allure of endless connectivity mask the risks that come with the technology. And in the process, we’ve let teenagers down.
We need to step up, conclude the report authors, and ask companies to do better.
“What they need now is for the adults in charge — governments, regulators, and tech leaders — to step up and meet them there. For too long, the interests of powerful tech companies have been prioritised over the wellbeing of the next generation. But parents across the UK are now coming together to protect childhood from the toxic and addictive algorithms peddled by tech companies,” adds Martin.
It’s also remarkable that teens are calling for pretty much the same things experts are. Young people in the BSI report overwhelmingly support built-in privacy protections — like age verification, identity checks, and default safety settings — which are exactly what privacy and consumer protection experts have been pushing for.
Perhaps herein lies a key for where to take things further. This generation’s digital coming-of-age offers a kind of blueprint. Teens aren’t simply passive users. They’re fluent in the rhythms of digital life. They know the risks and increasingly, they’re asking for help — not to escape the internet, but to reshape it.
They don’t want the internet turned off. They want it turned right.
