Opinion on age target for social media prohibition for minors - respondents 18 and above

This chart illustrates public opinion of adults (aged 18 and above) in the European Union regarding the appropriate legal age for accessing social media platforms, as determined by a 2026 FRA survey of more than 26000 adults. The data reveal a strong preference for high age limits, with the ag of 16 (16%) and the age of 18 or above (16%) emerging as the most popular legal cutoffs. Combining these with those favouring ages of 14 and 15, almost 56% of the population supports a 'digital majority' age of 14 or higher. A significant trend emerges regarding the rejection of unregulated access: only 1% of respondents believe there should be no age limitations, signalling near-universal public agreement on the necessity of age restrictions. While the preference for a 16-year limit provides a democratic mandate for the 'hard prohibitive' models currently proposed in countries such as Spain and Denmark, a notable 12% of the population still believes that the decision should remain the responsibility of parents. A significant trend emerges when these results are compared with those of the adolescent demographic (aged 15–17) - chart #68. While adults anchor their preference at the 16- and 18-year thresholds (32% combined), teenagers overwhelmingly favour a younger cutoff of 14 or 15 (31% combined). Furthermore, adults are four times more likely than adolescents to believe that the limit should be set at 18 or over (16% versus 4%), reflecting a far more restrictive outlook compared to adolescents' preference for mid-adolescent entry points. Adults show significantly less platform-specific nuance: they are only half as likely as teenagers to suggest that the limit should 'depend on the social media platform' (5% vs 11%). This suggests that the adult population favours a more uniform, 'blanket' regulatory approach.