Alberta teen reflects on life without social media

Sixteen-year-old Sophia Abild of Aldersyde thinks the federal government's Safe Social Media Act is a good thing

Federal Culture Minister Marc Miller put forward Bill C-34, the Safe Social Media Act, last month that would force social media companies to restrict accounts for those under the age of 16. According to a survey conducted by the Angus Reid Institute, many are already in favour of the bill, with 75 per cent saying they fully support it. While the legislation will not be a hit with many teenagers, some families have been abiding by its principles for years.

Sixteen-year-old Sophia Abild of Aldersyde has spent her entire life without social media. Her parents, Christian and Sharalynn Abild, both believe that their five kids shouldn't have social media until they are adults, and despite it being their rule, Sophia believes it has been beneficial to her upbringing. "We only see the good sides of people on social media, so I feel like that is really something I'm grateful not to have, almost like a burden I don't have.

I don't follow anybody, so I don't take time to try to become more like them or be influenced by them," she said. While Abild has grown to be accepting of the family's rule, she does admit there was a time when she begged her parents for Instagram. "The times that I wanted it the most, it would have been the most detrimental for me.

So, I think really trusting that my parents have the best in mind for me has been really helpful," explained Abild. She added her want for social media wasn't particularly about the app itself. "It was more of a want to be included and feel part of a group, like a community, than it really was to just have an app on my phone," said Abild.

She said the more popular apps became, the more isolating it felt to not have them. However, she's learned that those who truly want to connect with her will do so. "I feel like if that person really wants to talk to me, taking a more direct route, like messages or even just calling a phone number and things like that, can really, I feel like, show intention more," said Abild.

While she's now OK with not having social media, she hasn't completely ruled it out for when she becomes an adult. "Once you've built a foundation on who you are, what you believe in, I feel like you are able to discern through the false videos or pages. I feel like at a certain age, it becomes beneficial.

But I feel like when you're influential, or you're easily influenced, and you're growing, especially at a young age, I feel like having social media really confuses a lot of people and people lose a lot of their identity and try to find it in other people and videos and other people they see online," explained Abild. Having lived 16 years without social media, Abild thinks the Safe Social Media Act is ultimately not a bad thing. "I do think that's a really good age limit, and then I do believe it should be the parents' decision after that, because I know some 16-year-olds might not be as mature as others.

So, I think it should be controlled by the government to an extent, but then after that, it's really up to the parents and individual case by case how the children really react to those types of things because you parent every kid differently," she said.