Should the US change the minimum age to use social media?
Image: ADDitude
Capitol Hill is channeling the logo of everyone’s favorite retailer and focusing its bullseye on a new target: the minimum age to use social media. On Tuesday, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) introduced a bill that would ban all US children under the age of 16 from using social media, joining a similar House measure proposed earlier this month by Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT).
Both bills come on the heels of US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, aka “America’s doctor,” saying he thinks the current minimum age to join social media (13) is too young.
📅 Background: For decades, all major social media platforms have required users to be at least 13 years old due to a 1998 US law called COPPA, which bans the collection of personal data from children below that age without parental consent. But once they reach birthday #13, kids are legally allowed to create an account on any major social media platform, where they can post/consume content and view ads like normal adult users.
🤔 What’s so bad about that?... In a recent CNN interview, Surgeon General Murthy said he has two main concerns with the status quo in regards to social media and children:
- Research shows 13 is too young of an age to join social media, due to its links with poor mental health and low self-esteem in teens (though there’s little evidence those problems are directly caused by social media).
- Companies currently rely on children to moderate their own participation on social media, all while pouring dollars into ensuring its users stay on-platform for the maximum amount of time possible.
✋ Yes, but… Without certain measures like ID verification in place, increasing the minimum age to use social media or implementing new time restrictions won’t necessarily keep children safer online. And even if certain precautions are taken, kids are like the phones we use these days: pretty darn smart. Which means they’re more than capable of finding ways to falsify their age or bypass other policies that are in place.
📊 Flash poll: How do you feel about Congress approving a law that bans kids under 16 years old from using social media?
See a 360° view of what media pundits are saying →
Sprinkles from the Left
- Some commentators argue that a complete ban on social media for kids could end up backfiring and causing more harm than good, considering how nuanced the teenage experience with tech is.
- Others contend that consistent social media use has been linked with mental health issues like anxiety and depression, and regulators should have serious discussions about changing the minimum age for social media due to the harms it poses.
- “What we should and should not do about kids and social media” –Aubrey Kirchhoff, Bangor Daily News
- “Teen Social Media Screen Time Should Concern Parents” –Nicole Russell, Newsweek
- “Social media is riskier for kids than ‘screen time’” –Jean Twenge, Jonathan Haidt and Kevin Cummins, WaPo
Sprinkles from the Right
- Some commentators argue that giving 13-year-old kids unlimited access to social media – as is common nowadays – represents basically the same level of danger as handing them the keys to a car and sending them off on joyrides
- Others contend that Congress should change the law so that social media companies aren’t incentivized to allow children under 13 to easily lie about their age and circumvent rules meant to keep them safe.
- “Hey kid, wanna try some social media?” –The Globe and Mail Editorial Board
- “It Was a Mistake to Let Kids Onto Social Media Sites. Here’s What to Do Now.” –Yuval Levin, American Enterprise Institute
- “How young is too young for social media?” –Connor Grindal, St. Stephen’s Gauntlet
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