Social media: majority of Germans back minimum age of 16 to have accounts

Brussels – A clear majority of the German population is in favour of a stricter restriction of the minimum age for using social media: 85 percent of adults would like the minimum age of 16 to own a social media account, according to the results of the representative ifo Education Survey 2025, for which adults and young people across Germany were interviewed. 

 Even among those aged 14 to 17, a relative majority of respondents, 47 percent, are in favor.  Many see negative consequences for children and young people, for example, for their mental health or school performance. “The results show that there are major concerns in the population about possible risks in connection with social media,” says Ludger Wößmann, director of the ifo Centre for the Economics of Education. “It is striking that even many young people are in favor of stricter rules,” adds ifo researcher Vera Freundl. 

Social media now play a central role in the everyday lives of the German population: 78 percent of young people and 58 percent of adults spend more than an hour a day on social media during the week. Nevertheless, 47 percent of adults would prefer to live in a world without social media, and only 40 percent would prefer to live in a world with social media. By contrast, 68 percent of young people prefer to live in a world with social media.

A clear majority of respondents are also in favor of a ban on smartphones in schools. At elementary school, 64 percent of adults and 57 percent of young people want to ban the use of mobile phones during lessons; at secondary schools, the figures are 63 percent and 58 percent, respectively. At the same time, 66 percent of young people would like the use of artificial intelligence to be taught in the classroom. “This indicates that young people want clear limits for distracting technology, but targeted support for forward-looking digital skills,” says co-author Katharina Wedel. 

For the ifo Education Survey 2025, 2,982 adults (aged 18-69) and 1,033 young people (aged 14-17) in Germany were interviewed in May and June.