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Social media, AI chatbots and excessive screen time pose more significant risks to the health of children and youth than alcohol or drugs and inadequate nutrition, say some Manitoba doctors who responded to a survey about banning social media for young people.
“The doctors have spoken out and said absolutely we need a ban and we need to control this for the younger children,” Dr. Alon Altman, president of Doctors Manitoba, said in a news conference on Monday. “We’re worried about their brain development, their mental health and their physicality.”
In April, Manitoba announced Canada’s first social media and AI chatbot ban for children under 16. The province has said it will likely begin in schools, where cellphones were banned in 2024.
Doctors Manitoba is an advocacy organization that represents over 4,000 physicians, medical residents, and medical students across the province. It conducted a survey of members from April 30 to May 15 to gauge their reactions to the provincial proposal.
It garnered 242 responses — about six per cent of the organization’s members. About 60 per cent of those who answered were family doctors, psychiatrists and pediatricians, Altman said.
Among those who responded, 90.4 per cent supported the ban.
Almost 32 per cent of the doctors polled believe the proposed ban in Manitoba should extend to youth 17 and under, rather than 16 and under, a report on the survey says.
Social media and excessive screen time were bigger concerns among doctors who responded to the survey than substance use, inactivity, bullying and injuries among youth.
Only two categories ranked higher than social media and screen time: Adverse childhood experiences such as trauma, neglect or violence, and socioeconomic stressors such as poverty, housing or food insecurity.
Among those opposed to a ban, reasons included skepticism about the province’s ability to enforce it against major international digital apps and concern that any ban could face legal, ethical or privacy hurdles.
Other measures doctors believed could help reduce harms included:
- Removing addictive platform features, such as infinite scrolling.
- Stronger moderation of harmful content.
- Restrictions on advertising for minors.
- Digital literacy and online safety education for children and youth.
Asked if a ban might actually give some kids more anxiety by making them feel isolated from friends, Altman said social media already creates both anxiety and isolation.
Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba’s chief public health officer, said in the 2025 Health Status of Manitobans Report that early social media use is linked to a growing challenge in youth mental health, with higher rates of depression, anxiety and psychological distress.
The Canadian Paediatric Society has said the burden of protecting kids from the harms of social media shouldn’t fall only on the shoulders of their families. Since 2023, it has called for safeguards and government standards to be created.
Australia instituted the world’s first ban on social media for users under age 16 in December.
France is now pursuing a similar ban for children, as are several other EU members, while Brazil has introduced restrictions.
At the federal level in Canada, Culture Minister Marc Miller said last month the government was “very seriously” considering a similar move, but no decision had been made.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has also said Manitoba’s ban could extend to teachers using YouTube in the classroom.
Asked if that platform should also be banned, Altman said the survey looked at the general ban of social media for youth.
When it comes to YouTube in educational settings, the association “completely supports” educators using “the appropriate tools they need.”
“We’re not educators … so that would have to be a discussion with teachers and the government,” he said.
“We wanted to highlight the medical effects, the mental health effects and the physical effects that doctors are worried about with social media.”
As for how the ban should be implemented, Altman said again that was outside the scope of Doctors Manitoba.
“We do think that’s the first step, is to create the legislation, to create the ban. How it rolls out, obviously we’re not experts in that, and that is where we need the government to help and figure it out.”
