Today’s youth are spending more time on the internet and social media than any other generation before. As they spend hours each day scrolling through pages of content, interacting with friends as well as strangers, and playing the latest games, it has led to both positive and negative effects on their mental health. For the most part, these activities are taking place in a “wild west” digital world, where there is little oversight and parents are often left in the dark about their child’s digital interactions.

It has become apparent to many across our country that if we truly care about the futures of the next generation, we must act now to find a solution that will reduce the negative impacts of social media while keeping the positives intact. 

The Current State of Youth Mental Health and Technology

We are currently in a state where social media has been chosen as the sacrificial lamb for the youth mental health emergency in America. While there is no denying that we are in the middle of a crisis and that social media has contributed to it, there also needs to be a realization that social media is not solely responsible. We also must consider a plethora of other causes, such as the lingering impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

When the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in early 2020, it forced children out of schools and led them to social distancing in the safety of their homes. This prevented our youth from the in-person human interaction that they not only craved, but needed, allowing for the internet and the digital space to become the new playground for American youth.

Social media and other apps allowed kids to stay connected, talk, learn, express themselves, and play together, while in-person school was not an option. This showed a positive impact that social media and technology can have on American children and is often overlooked by people when discussing social media in today’s current climate.

Social media can be a very impactful tool for our youth, we just need to find a way to effectively filter out harmful content. I believe that can be done through giving parents a more prominent role in their children’s online presence and access. 

We Must Empower Parents

We can all agree that being a parent is a rewarding, yet challenging, task in and of itself. It has become harder in recent years due to the rise of online activity among youth. A recent Gallup survey found 51% of U.S. teens (13-19) spend an average of 4.8 hours every day on social media. Kids are constantly switching between apps, making it difficult for parents to keep tabs on what their children are consuming. The time has come for federal legislation that makes it easy for parents to ensure their child’s safety online.

Some states like Utah are working on legislation to address these problems.  Unfortunately, a patchwork of inconsistent state laws could easily lead to confusion and leave many children unprotected. So a better approach might be federal legislation.

One proposal would require parental consent at the app store level. This would empower parents by giving them the final stamp of approval before a child can download an app onto a device. This allows parents the chance to decide if an app is age appropriate for their child to be using. Parents could make their own choices based on their own family values and views. 

In a recent Morning Consult study, it was found that 79% of U.S. parents already would support a law requiring parental approval for children under the age of 16 to download apps.  These are strong numbers by any measure and indicate an approach that might be able to draw broad bipartisan support in Congress.