Most people don’t read the terms of service when making a social media account, and most of them are horrified when they do. With 67% using TikTok and 95% using Youtube, most of America’s teens use social media. Despite this, it’s highly unlikely they read the terms and conditions.

According to a poll done by Pew Research Center in 2013, only nine percent of American adults read the terms of service. American teens could share similar trends when only nine percent of them share concern over third parties accessing their data.

Miguel Hernandez, a 16-year-old who spends an average of three and a half hours a day on TikTok, guessed that “[maybe] ten percent” of American teens read the terms of service. Their hours were gauged using Apple’s Screen Time feature in the settings app.

Most teens are unaware of how much of their data is tracked, and even less know when and how their favorite social media app collects their data. An agreement to the use of third-party cookies, access to their phone number, emails, and messages typically goes unnoticed by the average user.
“I didn’t know what cookies are until you explained them to me,” said Nathanial Branders, a 15 year-old who on average spends three hours a day on Instagram.

If someone doesn’t read the terms & conditions, they could inadvertently agree to unfavorable conditions. When a contract is signed, all clauses within the document are made effective, no matter how absurd they may be.

ProPrivacy.com, a resource dedicated to online privacy, conducted a survey whose respondents had to agree to the terms and conditions in order to proceed. Within the document included laughably pointless or asinine clauses like surrendering naming rights to their first-born child, giving their mother access to their browser history, and the ability to invite an FBI agent for Christmas dinner.

“So, what I got out of that is that Facebook tracks my face and that I’m always being watched,” said Natalie del after reading parts of Instagram’s privacy policy. “I should’ve probably known they’re tracking my location; I see posts about Washington all the time.”