In recent years, two trends have grown in prominence among today’s youth: mental health struggles and social media use. A 2023 survey conducted by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction found that over half of high schoolers reported experiencing anxiety. The survey also asked students about their technology use. Nearly four in five students reported using screens three or more hours every day, and over 40% reported using social media hourly.
For years, educators, parents, and researchers have speculated about the link between increased social media use and rising mental health struggles, and research conducted in recent years reveals an inextricable link between the two phenomena. The Social Media and Youth Mental Health Advisory found that “children and adolescents who spend more than 3 hours a day on social media face double the risk of mental health problems including experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety.”
The Effects of Social Media on Children
Evidence consistently points to genuine harm from platforms designed to keep users hooked. The compulsive engagement they create interferes with healthy youth development and psychological wellbeing. Kids and teens who develop addictive patterns of use show higher rates of anxiety, depression, and sleep problems. Long-term studies tracking children over time reveal that addictive social media habits often come before emotional difficulties develop. These patterns also correlate with increased suicide risk.
The effects of social media on their children concerns many parents today. One poll found that social media and too much screen time are the top concerns of American parents. Beyond concerns of social media’s addictive qualities and subsequent mental health struggles, many parents also worry about security risks and the adult content their children may be exposed to. Their concerns are certainly valid. One study estimates that 1 in 12 children worldwide have been exposed to online child sexual exploitation or abuse. Meta’s social media platforms alone expose as many as 100,000 young people per day to sexual harassment, including sextortion and obscene images.
As the guardians of their children’s wellbeing, parents must protect their children from online dangers, but the loose regulations for social media platforms make parents’ job of protecting their children difficult than it should be. Currently, the Wisconsin legislature is considering several bills concerning online safety and parental controls. One of these bills directly addresses the concerns surrounding social media’s addictive design.
AB 963 – Stop Harms from Addictive Social Media
Assembly Bill 963 addresses several of the key concerns surrounding the addictive design of social media and the harms it can to children. The bill carefully balances business regulation, parental rights, the protection of children, and First Amendment rights. Since over 90% of kids’ time on social media is spent on the largest platforms, this bill’s requirements focus on large social media platforms with annual revenues over $1 billion.
AB 963 stands out as excellent legislation for Wisconsin families for several reasons:
- First, AB 963 requires social media platforms to estimate users’ ages. Social media platforms already use A.I. technologies to estimate users’ ages. If a child is identified, AB 963 simply requires social media platforms to obtain parental consent for the continuation of the minor’s account.
- Second, AB 963 places parents as the decision makers for their children’s social media. This bill does not ban social media for kids. Instead, it respects parents who give permission for their child to have a social media account through verifiable consent. This bill ensures that parents have both the tools and the authority to be involved in their child’s digital existence.
- Third, AB 963 makes social media safer and less addictive for children. This bill includes several provisions that require social media platforms to make social media safer and less addictive when a minor user is identified. These protections include setting the default privacy setting to maximum security, banning targeted commercial advertising, and prohibiting addictive features such as infinite scrolling.
- Fourth, AB 963 is entirely content neutral. The authors of AB 963 carefully designed the bill to comply with the First Amendment and other legal precedents. The bill focuses on restricting the addictive technological aspects of social media that are detrimental to children’s brain function, social capabilities, and academic achievement. AB 963 addresses the design of the product itself not content moderation.
Breaking the Addiction
For too long, social media platforms have reached children with products designed to addict them with little to no restrictions. Unsurprisingly, these addictive qualities cause harm to children. Just like other addictive substances, social media platforms should face restrictions when accessing minors.
Our society has placed protections around other addictive substances to protect children. For instance, we restrict tobacco, alcohol, and gambling from reaching children due to the destruction their addiction brings. Likewise, the widespread harms of addictive social media have proven a need for restrictions. Evidence repeatedly shows that addictive social media use wreaks havoc on minors’ mental health and overall wellbeing. AB 963 seeks to protect kids from the destructive effects of social media addiction, allowing them to grow up as happy and healthy as possible.
In addition to regulating the addictive aspects of social media, AB 963 places control into the hands of those who know and love their children best: parents. AB 963 creates an excellent framework for parents to safeguard their children while working within the guidelines of First Amendment rights. Representative Joy Groben, author of AB 963, highlights the strengths of this bill, “Assembly Bill 963 matters because it restores something Wisconsin families believe in deeply: parental authority. This bill doesn’t tell parents how to raise their kids. It simply says that if a company wants access to a minor, access to their time, their attention, and their personal data, parents deserve to know, and parents deserve control.” We heartily agree.
AB 963 places parents in the driver’s seat of their children’s online safety and brings social media safety requirements up to par with children’s safety requirements in the physical world. Passing AB 963 would secure a win for Wisconsin families and communities.
AB 963 passed through the Assembly last week and has now moved on to the Senate for a vote.
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