Social media spans across a variety of apps where people connect, talk, and argue online. Though social media can help with learning or daily life, people, especially teens and young adults, have been using it profusely, which research suggests can interfere with focus and attention span. These detrimental effects have caused governments to step into this crisis. Australia was the first to act with a complete ban, prohibiting social media use for those under sixteen years of age. Spain followed, with plans to do the same. Some officials even tried to ban social media for minors in Utah, but that plan failed. Governments in several countries are stepping in to address social media addiction and stop its negative effects on teens. But should governments really be stepping in to regulate the use of social media?
Before answering, it is fundamental to examine the impacts of social media on people today. It can be seen that screen time has become a growing problem among individuals. According to Lucie’s Hospital of Chicago, eighty-one percent of children under thirteen have their own device in the United States, with fifty-nine percent of those children starting by age three.
The use of social media among teens is no different. According to the Pew Research Center, nearly half of teens in the United States say social media has a negative effect on their peers, and four out of ten say social media hurts their productivity. According to Woopdo, an organization focused on helping people disconnect from the force of social media, American teens spend an average of seven hours and twenty-two minutes looking at screens outside of schoolwork per day.
So, should governments regulate social media use for teens? The answer is no. The government should not control teens’ social media usage. Rather, the solution should be a combination of teens exercising discipline and adults reinforcing limits on social media usage and content they do or do not want their children to see.
The overarching reason why governments should not control social media is because it villainizes social media, suggesting that social media itself is the problem in society. The real problem is not the existence of social media. Social media is actually a great innovation that connects people from around the world. It can be helpful, and maybe even beneficial, if used in moderation. The problem is the lack of discipline among many teens in their everyday usage, which is what makes social media harmful in people’s lives.
So how can teens develop the discipline not to overuse social media? The fault is at both the teenagers’ side for indiscipline, and on the parents’ side for failing to enforce such rules. Some things teens can do to stay off of social media include putting their phone on grayscale, setting screen time limits, learning something new, or making social media less accessible for themselves, such as by deleting social media apps from their phone to make them less convenient to access. Parents can do their part by reinforcing social media usage limits, monitoring their child’s screen time, or helping their child find entertainment away from devices. If both teens and parents do their part, social media will not get in the way of everyday life.
In conclusion, social media should not be controlled by the government. By doing so, governments imply that the invention of social media has ruined society. The real problem of social media is not its place in the world, but rather teenagers’ lack of discipline and adults’ lack of assertiveness in containing its constant use. If governments step back and teens and adults do their respective parts in moderating social media use, social media can remain a connecting, educational, and great gift that society should be happy to receive.
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