Australians display strong support for technology restrictions

Australians are among the most supportive nations in relation to our education system and one of the least supportive of AI use in schools, according to a new Ipsos study.

Ipsos, one of the world's leading market research companies, today announced the release of its latest edition of the Ipsos Education Monitor. This 30-country survey, including Australia, tracks perceptions of education systems and the use of technology in schools, and this year also looks at the challenges facing young people.

Key Australian findings

• Australians are among the most positive around the globe about education - When it comes to perceptions of our education system, 56% rate the quality of our education system as ‘good’ (versus the global average of 34%). Only three other countries had higher levels of positivity – Singapore (77%), Ireland (71%), India (65%).
• People in NSW are more positive (62%) about their education system than those in Victoria and Queensland (both 53%).
• There are no standout challenges for the education system with a number of issues being selected at similar rates with the lack of public funding (29%); Generative AI (29%); overcrowded classrooms (27%); and staff wellbeing (26%) topping the list. Perhaps the most interesting finding is the large increase in concern for AI, which jumped from 17% in 2024, making us second only to Singapore (43%) in viewing AI as a challenge to our education system.
• In Australia (79%) and across the globe (71%), there is strong support for banning social media access for children under 14. We are in 6th place when it comes to support for this measure. Interestingly, here and across the globe support for this kind of measure has strengthened considerably since 2024 (up 8% in Australia).
• There is also considerable support in Australia (62%) and across the globe (55%) for banning smart phones in schools.
• Unsurprisingly, support for the social media ban increases with age – 70% of Gen Z support the social media ban versus 86% of Baby Boomers. A similar pattern of increasing support with age is evident for mobile phones, however, Gen Z are much less in favour, with only 34% supporting the ban, versus 63% of Millennials, 71% of Gen X and 82% of Baby Boomers.
• Just under half of the Australians (47%) surveyed support banning AI in schools, placing us in fourth position behind Canada (55%), Ireland (52%), and France (51%).
• When asked what they thought were the greatest challenges facing young Australians, there was no standout issue among Australians, with ‘mental health challenges (e.g. depression, anxiety)’ (38%), and ‘bullying and peer pressure’ (37%) being the top two. The next most common were ‘affordability and availability of housing’ (33%), ‘the effects of social media and technology, such as AI’ (30%), and ‘gangs and youth violence’ (29%).
• Interestingly, ‘mental health challenges’ was much more likely to be mentioned in Queensland (47%), while Victorians were much more likely to mention ‘gangs and youth violence’ (38%).
• While Australians were among the least likely to rate the mental health of our young people as poor, just under half (47%) did rate it as poor, with only 21% rating it as good. Alternatively, 31% rate young people’s physical health as poor (36% rate it as good).

Ipsos Australia Deputy Managing Director, David Elliott, said: “The findings of our Ipsos Education Monitor this year show strong support – at 79% - for a ban on social media for those under 14 years, which suggests there is likely also strong support for the Government’s legislation banning those under 16 years. The lower level of support for a smart phone ban in schools is interesting, although it is likely an indication of lower levels of concerns because most schools and education departments around the country have already banned or restricted their use in schools.

“Concern over social media and young people is likely also linked to community concerns about their mental health and bullying and peer pressure. To that end, while we compare well globally, we don’t have a particularly positive view of the mental health of our young people. We often hear about the pressures our health system is under regarding mental health, if our beliefs about our young people are correct, then mental health service provision is going to need a rethink from governments across the country.”

Key global findings

• Widespread support for banning under-14s from social media. An average of 71% across 30 countries believe children under 14 should not be able to access social media, and 74% of school-age parents feel the same. As Australia becomes the first country to prevent under-16s from creating social media accounts later this year, we find a majority in all 30 countries backing minimum age controls for social media.
• People in Europe are among the most critical of their education systems. Majorities in Hungary (59%), France (55%) and Romania (54%) view education in their country as poor and the balance of opinion is also negative in Germany, Spain, Italy and Belgium. Views are, however, more positive in Ireland, where 71% say education is in good shape, and the British (where 49% say it’s good) also record a favourable overall assessment.
• Mental health seen as the biggest issue affecting young people. On average 33% say mental health is the top challenge for young people, ahead of inequality (28%), bullying (26%), and social media (25%). And 53% think the mental health of young people in their country is poor. This feeling is highest in Chile (73%) and France (69%).
• When it comes to which subjects people most enjoyed when they were at school, history comes out top overall, followed by maths and science. Americans are most likely to put history as one of their favourites. Maths is more divisive. While it is the second most liked subject with 30% saying it was their favourite, it comes out top in the “least favourite” stakes, bringing back bad memories for 37% of respondents. In Singapore it is both people’s favourite and least favourite subject!