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The narrative about social media use by teens and young children finally seems to be shifting in a positive direction. After years of hearing heartbreaking stories about the mental health and emotional impact of social media use by children and teens, politicians are finally uniting on a bipartisan basis to crack down on social media by society’s youngest users.
While we’re still in the early stages here, it’s undeniable that something big is finally happening. Utah recently passed new social media legislation that bans teens age 18 and under from using social media during the hours of 10:30 pm and 6:30 am. And now Florida is on the brink of passing new legislation that will essentially make it impossible for teens age 16 and under from using social media at all. The Florida House passed the bill with a bipartisan vote of 106-13, and now it’s up to the Florida Senate to sign off on it as well.
Terms and conditions of the new Florida legislation
There are several important provisions in the new Florida legislation. First and foremost, it will prohibit teens from creating a social media account if they are age 16 or younger. Secondly, it will force social media platforms to delete any existing accounts that were created by minors age 16 or younger. And, finally, any person attempting to open a new social media account must verify their age via a trusted third party. This means you’ll have to do more than just click a digital button that says, “Yes, I’m over the age of 16, let me in.”
The Florida legislators acted because they think social media has the chance to be highly addictive. In fact, some of them say that social media is so addictive, it’s like “digital fentanyl.” As with any highly addictive substance, there are always perils and problems. In the case of social media, this can include mental health issues, ranging from depression to thoughts of suicide or self-harm. And it can include physical well-being issues as well, especially when it comes to body image.
Will this movement go nationwide?
Given the immense bipartisan support for the Florida legislation, it’s easy to see a path forward for similar types of legislation in other states as well. That’s especially true, given that the U.S. Surgeon General has already weighed in on the matter, saying that there is a “profound risk” of harm to young teens if they continue to use social media for long periods of time each day.
It will be up to individual states to decide if this means an outright ban – as we’re seeing in Utah or Florida – or whether it is more of a nuanced approach to reducing social media use. This might include, for example, a suggested curfew for social media use, or new rules on proving one’s age and identity before signing up for a new social media account.
In at least two states now, parents can rest a bit easier at night. But if you live in the other 48 states, there’s still work to be done. At the very least, parents need to be taking a more active role here. They need to become more informed about how their teens are using social media, and put safeguards into place to avoid worst-case scenarios from coming true.
