Would you be in favor of requiring kids and young teens to undergo training before creating a social media account?

👍 Yes (70%) – "As a parent and a teacher, I have seen firsthand the issues that social media can cause with teens and even pre-teens. I had my own kids go through a self-developed “course” and sign a contract before they were allowed to get a social media account. And, until they were able to show they were mature enough to handle it on their own, I monitored their accounts regularly."

• "My experience is that teens and pre-teens first of all don't know how to evaluate what they read (my niece believes almost everything on the Internet) and they don't know how to appropriately react emotionally. It's hard enough thinking it's the end of the world because your friend said something snide at lunch. Imagine how hard it is in a space where tone isn't always well conveyed and where lots of people feel they have free reign to be as nasty as they want to be. Children need to be protected not only from predators but also just from the emotional and mental toll social media use exacts."
• "While bullying and self-image (and their links to mental health) are central issues to this topic, I would like to see training ALSO include media literacy—can you tell false/misleading information? Is something from a legitimate source? With the rise of AI, this may be increasingly difficult, but as a high school psychologist, I have seen it is necessary."
• "I'm a high school teacher and have seen the slow decline of our children's mental health statuses, social interactions, and attention spans. I think more education is good but it should be for parents as well. Most parents are incredibly naïve when it comes to the realities of their children's daily lives - online and off."

👎 No (16%) – "I don’t think the government should be requiring training for social media, but I do think parents should talk with their children before allowing them to create social media accounts. Having the government involved seems like massive overstep of freedom, especially as “third spaces” (a third free location for socializing besides home and school) are continually disappearing in favor of virtual spaces."

• "Social media and its uses are ever-evolving. I struggle to picture a training that can adapt quickly enough and that will be relatable to young kids. I also wonder how in the world you can enforce this. Driving without a license is easily enforced by police...who are the social media police in this case? I think a better use of funds and time would be sensitivity, empathy, and communication trainings for young kids."

🤷 Unsure/other (14%) – "Great idea, but who is going to do the training? Is this one more thing that will be dumped on schools and state governments will spend all of next legislative session arguing over silly rules to regulate it.....and every parent everywhere will have demands that meet the needs of their kids and simultaneously step on the parenting rights of others."

• "I don't think that social media is healthy for tweens and teens, but a required training like for driving feels like government overreach. It should be worked into public school curriculum, maybe as part of health class."