Plan International Consultation Finds Support for Conditional Social Media Access

Respondents favored safeguards, parental guidance and platform accountability over a blanket approach to under-16 access.

A Plan International Pilipinas consultation found that 63% of respondents favored conditional social media access for children under 16, highlighting support for safeguards rather than unrestricted use or blanket exclusion.

According to the organization’s release, 29% supported an outright ban, while 7% opposed a ban entirely.

The 2026 consultation gathered 164 online survey responses and included a focus group discussion with 13 Youth Advisory Group members.

These findings describe the consultation’s respondents. They should not be read as a nationally representative measure of all Filipino young people.

Access with stronger protections

The responses point toward a combination of age-appropriate safeguards, parental support, digital literacy and greater responsibility from technology companies.

Plan International Pilipinas links these views with its earlier Landscape Assessment of Online Platforms Used by Children and Young People in Selected Regions of the Philippines.

That separate assessment involved 590 participants: 494 online survey respondents, 80 focus group participants and 16 key informants.

The two exercises have different participant groups and should not be combined into a single survey sample.

Why young people value digital spaces

The earlier assessment found that communication was the leading reason respondents used online platforms, followed by education and learning, leisure, and stress reduction.

Participants described using digital spaces to maintain relationships, join communities, access information, learn skills and attend online classes.

They also identified risks, including inappropriate content, cyberbullying, scams, privacy concerns, exploitation and excessive use.

Their suggested protections included better content filters, privacy settings, reporting tools, safer platform design and support from parents.

A shared responsibility for online safety

Sheila Estabillo, Project Manager at Plan International Pilipinas, said the goal is to equip teenagers with practical skills to navigate online environments critically and responsibly.

The organization calls for families, schools, government, communities and technology companies to share responsibility for protection.

The findings support a more specific discussion than whether access should simply be allowed or prohibited: what safeguards young users need, who must provide them, and how those protections can preserve opportunities for learning and connection.

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