When I was a kid, I used to hear about the negative aspects of social media and how it can negatively impact young people my age. And like most kids who heard warnings from adults, I didn’t listen.
I remember the exact moment I realized for myself that social media could have negative effects. When I was in sixth grade, Instagram had just released a new feature that let you post to the app’s Stories feature. I posted a photo of myself and asked my co-workers to rate how much they liked me. It seemed harmless to me at the time.
Surprisingly, some of the answers weren’t very good, and for the first time I realized how social media can make me feel bad about myself. My family also saw this and were worried that something negative was happening in my life. This was an adverse learning experience that could have been avoided if they had been prepared to interact safely on social media platforms.
This isn’t the worst experience I’ve had with social media, and it’s certainly not as bad as some of my colleagues have had. But this is an important anecdote about how teens like me experience social media. I’ve grown up with it. It’s something that’s been a part of my entire life. However, our society does not teach our children how to navigate these apps or how to identify when social media is not healthy for us.
That’s why I’m grateful that House Bill 1136 is passing the Colorado General Assembly. This bipartisan bill will provide teens and parents with the information and support they need to make informed decisions for themselves and encourage healthier interactions with social media. It helps you make educated decisions that help you form relationships and habits.
First, not all social media is bad. I myself have benefited from socializing with friends, used Instagram Reels to refresh myself after a long day at school, and in some cases, helped colleagues find relief from loneliness through their online community. I’ve seen it. It’s also a great way to learn about different issues in the world and understand different perspectives. Most importantly, when a classmate of mine at my school died from gun violence last year, I needed social media to spread that information to my colleagues. I don’t think social media is going away, so now is the time to give everyone the tools and resources to use social media safely.
Teens spend a surprising amount of time on social media platforms. According to the 2022 Kids Survey, the average 10th grader spends more than 3.5 hours per day on social media, and a quarter of all teens spend more than 4.5 hours per day on social media. reported spending on media. The same study shows that spending more than three hours on social media platforms is associated with an increased risk of depression, anxiety, and psychological distress. That’s why House Bill 1136 is an effective tool to help rewrite these trends.
First, this bill will create an educational resource bank that will be available to the public. Although much information exists about the risks and harms of social media, it is often difficult to access or hidden in academic journals. This resource bank serves as a one-stop shop for teens, parents, educators, and everyone else to get the information they need to reduce the negative and addictive effects of social media on their mental health .
Second, this bill would ensure that teens receive real-time pop-up notifications when something goes wrong with their social media use. Solutions like screen time can be easily ignored and turned off. But the pop-up notifications required by this bill would serve to create physical and mental disruption in the moment for what could be mindless scrolling. Even better, notifications include data and links to resources. This is a research-backed intervention that will lead to better choices. It’s similar to the nutrition facts label for food. We’ll give you the information you need to make healthier choices right now.
My colleagues often use social media to numb their mental health issues, which ultimately leads to depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues that severely impact people my age. Perpetuating the cycle of problems. That’s why we need to intervene and stop the cycle. The bill’s individualized, evidence-based approach, tailored to young people, will be a game-changer. Now that this bill has passed the House, we hope it continues to gain bipartisan support as it passes the Senate and reaches the Governor’s desk.
Melina Collier lives in Denver, is a senior at East High School, and is a member of the Colorado Youth Conference.
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