Lawmakers try to restrict kids’ social media access in some states
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VIRGINIA (DC News Now) — Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is working on legislation to restrict TikTok for kids in the new year.
“I’m announcing that I will introduce legislation to restrict youth access – those under 18 – to TikTok, full stop,” he said on Dec. 15.
“I am very, very interested to see how it would actually be enforced, knowing that I have spoken about this sort of thing with my son, who is almost 15 and he’s like ‘Mom, but kids are just going to use a VPN. They’re just going to circumvent it. They’re going to find a way to get on it,’” said Titania Jordan, Chief Parent Officer of Bark Technologies.
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Jordan is tracking other proposals on Capitol Hill, which could give parents control of what their kids see and do online.
“What will be more effective is for things like Sammy’s law to be passed… Sammy’s law gives parents the option to use third-party monitoring solutions to limit screen time and get access to the content that is occurring on social media and opt into getting alerts for dangers,” said Jordan.
“Children should not be on social media before 13, and a lot of kids shouldn’t even be on it at 13 or 14 or 15,” she added.
Jordan says social media can be hazardous to kids for several reasons.
“It depends on their mental health, the maturity, you know, from the very light basic layer of just the comparison trap, children falling into the ‘Well, they’re thinner than I am; they’re richer than I am; they have more friends than I do; they have more engagement than I do,'” she said. “Children do not need to be acutely aware of all these things that aren’t even real life so early.”
Parents can monitor their kids online by using free parental controls offered through devices and on many social media platforms.
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