Not all teens are against the idea of using less social media, despite what some would believe. “I wouldn’t mind it,” said Maggie Kelly, 18, of Cape Breton. “I like going to the gym and running and listening to music.” On Thursday, she was out enjoying the water at Dominion Beach in Dominion, N.S. But even as a young person who has plenty of interests offline, she admits it can be easy to get caught up in things like comparing yourself to others on social media. “Like, if someone got more likes than me I might think maybe more people like them than they like me or something like that,” Kelly said. New rules put forward in the United States as part of Meta’s settling of its $18 billion lawsuit include a two hour per day usage limit that can only be overridden by a parent or guardian, bans on cosmetic filters and like counts and a night curfew which blocks feeds, stories and reels between midnight and 6 a.m. Bedford, N.S.-based digital anthropologist Giles Crouch said this could be a big step toward similar scrolling limits being put in place here in Canada. However, he added, it could take time. “Right now, there are no major lawsuits against Meta in Canada, so they don’t have that legal threat that is looming down on them,” Crouch said. “But I think this is probably the most significant signal that we have seen coming out of society saying, ‘Hang on, platforms. You have done enough harm and damage. Now, we’re going to take action.’” South of the border, Julie Frumin - a licensed family therapist with Mothers Against Media Addiction - called the new Meta rules a big win but wants them to apply to other platforms, not just Instagram and Facebook. “No matter what the platform is - if there is a new platform tomorrow or next week, that they have a duty to protect kids because we have decided that these platforms are products,” Frumin said in an interview with CNN. “And any other product on a shelf has to be safe by design.” In a statement to CTV News, Meta said that the changes are specific to the United States and that it already has strong protections in place for teens and simple control for parents around the world. Crouch said the fact Meta settled its lawsuit says something and feels some sort of change will happen in Canada - even if it takes movement at the provincial levels first. “Somebody has got to step in,” Crouch said. “It takes a village to raise a child and that’s what we’re doing.” For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
