Local parents, educators and pediatricians are raising alarms about social media’s detrimental effects on youth. While parents can attempt to impose limits at home, many believe that the government should take a greater role in regulation.
According to a University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital Poll on Children’s Health, the top three concerns for parents are: 1. Overuse of devices/screen time (67%), 2) Social media (66%), 3.) Internet Safety (62%), followed by related issues of depression, suicide, bullying, stress and anxiety.
Michigan State Representative Mark Tisdel put forth Michigan House Bill 5920, which prohibits minors from consenting to online service terms and instead requires parental consent for users aged 13 to 18.
“There’s nowhere else that we allow 13- or 14-year-olds to enter a contract,” Tisdel said. “And that’s what the terms of use agreements are. They’re simply contracts, quid pro quo contracts.”
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Parents report all kinds of harmful effects as a result of too much social media, and Internet use, generally.
“If parents are going to be held responsible for picking up the pieces of any bad outcomes on the back end, they ought to have some authority on the front end,” Tisdel explained.
Some States in the U.S. have already enacted legislation, and Australia recently established a national age threshold for social media use starting at age 16.
The bill’s impetus stems from the harm many children have experienced from unfettered access to social media. Academic studies and reports, such as from the Surgeon General and according to Tisdel, connect youth’s unfettered use of social media to mental health issues, anxiety, depression, sleep disruption, addition, cyberbullying, body image issues, self-harm, low academic performance, reduced social skills, exposure to inappropriate content (violence, sexually explicit, self-harm), misinformation, predatory grooming, polarization/aggression, and even physical issues like eye strain, sedentary lifestyle and posture problems.
Currently, many social media companies like Facebook require that users are at least 13. Tisdel’s bill would implement third-party verification and has said that many industries already require third-party verification to purchase items on the internet, such as alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and pornography. Tisdel said the pornography industry is weak in their authentication process as well. Other companies that require third-party consent are credit card companies and the banking industry.
Tisdel said that if the third-party verification for social media finds out you are 13 through 18, then parents would have greater control of the account.
Tisdel’s bill is based on Professor Jonathan Haidt’s work for the past 4 or 5 years. Haidt has been writing about social media and its connection to mental health.
Haidt states that social media is a major contributor to the rise of adolescent anxiety and depression that began in the 2010s and that social media is a major cause of harm to teen girls.
“Research will tell you that the average teen spends anywhere from four to seven hours a day online, and you can see the deterioration of mental wellness…” Tisdel said. “The Surgeon General has told us four different times that this is a national health problem.”
According to this research, we are entering our 13th year of a mental health crisis with our youth, and in more severe cases with teen and tween girls. The study is titled “The Dangerous Experiment on Teen Girls” and “Adolescent Mood Disorder Since 2010: A Collaborative Review.”
A recent news release by the Surgeon General warned that “While social media may offer some benefits, there are ample indicators that social media can also pose a risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents.” It also reported that social media use by young people is “nearly universal,” and 95% of those ages 13-17 use social media, and one-third report their use “almost constantly.”
The report goes on to say that significant brain development occurs during this age, and children are exposed to violent content, sexual content, bullying, harassment, unrealistic body images and comparison culture. It impacts sleep, valuable in-person time, time with friends and family and time spent outdoors.
Counterarguments against the restrictions on social media include free speech, the parent’s sole duty, the fact that it is too persuasive to regulate, and the possibility that youth might find even worse places on the internet to communicate.
“It’s one of the biggest challenges parents face, and the argument (against it) is that everyone else is doing it,” Tisdel said. “So you put some statewide parameters on it, and not everyone else is doing it. And it will be an adjustment. It will be difficult. But Australia just passed it nationwide.”
Ultimately, Tisdel believes that minors should not be allowed into a harmful environment like social media.
“The social pathologies are well recognized, well demonstrated by years and years of research, and this wide-open access is doing no one any good,” Tisdel said.
Tisdel noted there is bipartisan interest in this bill, and it may have a good chance for a hearing and being voted upon and passed by the end of next year.
