As a senior at East High School in Denver, Melina Collier is fluent in social media.
TikTok most frequently. Snapchat to message with friends. Instagram for idle scrolling.
But while she and her friends definitely know what they are doing on the apps, that doesn’t mean they always feel in control of them — or that they think the platforms are good for them. Collier gave the example of content on the apps specifically targeted at teenage girls that purports to promote health and fitness but in reality sends a message of body-shaming.
“It’s supposed to be body positivity,” Collier said, “but it ends up being really harmful. There’s an underlying negative tone around it.”
“Just watching my friends and myself be sucked into algorithms that have promoted some almost toxic culture, I think it’s really hard for people my age to be aware of when it’s happening.”
A new bill would regulate social media
This is not an uncommon feeling across the country, according to numerous surveys. And it’s why Colorado lawmakers have introduced a bill that would, for the first time in the state, create regulations on social media platforms.
The bill would require social media platforms to show in-app warnings to youth in Colorado with information and resources about the harms of social media after one hour of use or when the teen is using social media after 10 p.m.
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According to the bill, the warning must say that “youth who spend more than three hours per day on social media double the risk of experiencing poor mental health outcomes, including anxiety and depression symptoms.” The warnings must also include links to data on social media’s health effects and links to information on how to use existing social media platform features that allow users to limit screen time.
The warnings would repeat after 30 minutes and then more frequently. The bill would require warnings to be shown to social media users ages 13 through 17.
A second section of the bill would require the state Department of Education to develop a resource bank with research and other information on how social media use impacts mental health, brain development and overall well-being. This information would be publicly available, allowing parents, teachers and young people to learn more about the effects of frequent social media use.
The bill has bipartisan sponsorship at the Capitol.
“There’s a willingness for everyone to work together to help alleviate some of the mental health burdens that social media brings,” said House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese, a Colorado Springs Republican who is one of the bill’s prime sponsors. “Bringing parents into the conversation is really important.”
“Anybody who has kids that are growing up in this particular climate have seen some negative impacts from social media,” said Rep. Judy Amabile, a Democrat from Boulder who is another prime sponsor. “And I think it’s incumbent upon us to do something about it.”
Teens have mixed feelings about social media
The bill comes as research highlights the potential harms of social media but also shows a complicated picture of teens’ attitudes toward it.
In one recent national study, 46% of teens ages 13 through 17 said social media made them feel worse about their bodies, while 52% said social media at least sometimes made them feel as if their life is worse than others’. But those same teens also reported that social media can make them feel more socially connected or emotionally supported by peers.
In a survey by the Pew Research Center, 36% of teens said they spend too much time on social media, and at least 50% of teens surveyed reported using YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat and/or Instagram daily. More than half of teens surveyed said it would be hard for them to give up social media.
This fraught relationship between kids and social media is what caused U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to call social media “an important driver” of an ongoing youth mental health crisis. And Coloradans widely agree with him, according to a new poll.
Poll shows support for regulations
In the poll, 88% of people said they believe there is a youth mental health crisis and 82% of people said they believe social media has a negative impact on youth mental health. The poll surveyed 900 Colorado registered voters and was commissioned by the advocacy group Healthier Colorado, which supports the new bill.
When asked whether they would support a state law to impose requirements on social media platforms to prevent adverse mental health effects, 75% of people said yes. The concept drew strong majority support across all age groups and income levels, from Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters and from parents and nonparents.
“This is just overwhelming,” said pollster David Flaherty, who conducted the survey with a second pollster, Chris Keating. “I also feel that people do not believe this is an undue burden.”
Avoiding a legal fight courtroom
Despite widespread public support to do something, though, social media regulations in other states have often run up against formidable legal challenges. Laws in several states have become embroiled in lawsuits brought by social media companies or free-speech advocates, preventing those regulations from being implemented.
Supporters of the Colorado bill said they sought to avoid a similar fate by not standing in the way of teens downloading social media apps or using the platforms, as other states have attempted.
Kyle Piccola, Healthier Colorado’s vice president of communications and advocacy, said the bill was written to track what social media companies are already doing with opt-in screen time reminders.
“We feel we have taken a really common sense approach,” Piccola said. “This is not going to impact them as much as some of the other policies proposed in the past.”
Amabile compared the proposed regulations to the warning labels on cigarette packaging, while Pugliese said lawmakers wanted to be realistic about what they could accomplish.
“We’re not going to eliminate social media use for kids,” she said.
Neither sponsor said they had heard of opposition to the bill from social media companies, though they cautioned that could change. There are no lobbyists signed up in opposition to the bill, either. Lobbyists for Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, say they are monitoring the bill.
To Collier, the East High School senior, the bill won’t fix everything, but she said it’s a worthwhile start. The bill is scheduled for its first committee hearing Feb. 22 in the House Education Committee. Collier plans to be there to testify.
“I’m not sure that this is an end-all be-all solution,” she said, “but I think it’s a great jumping off point.”