Question: How is the new Utah social media law going to affect youth on social media? Will it solve enough safety problems to make it worth giving up free speech for minors on social media?

 

Answer: While our Center of Excellence can’t offer support for or against specific laws, we can help young people and parents understand what research says about the different parts of proposed regulations regarding children’s technology use. 

What does the new Utah social media law do?  

It requires that: 

  • Social media companies obtain the permission (consent) of a parent or guardian before a Utah resident under the age of 18 years (aka a “minor”) may open an account or keep an already established one.  
  • Once an account for a minor has been opened, social media companies must provide a parent or guardian access to the content and interactions of that account. 
  • For all accounts held by a Utah minor, social media companies must: 
    • Limit hours of access (subject to parental or guardian direction). 
    • Prohibit direct messaging with certain accounts. 
    • Not show the minor’s account in search results. 
    • Not display advertising. 
    • Not collect, share, or use personal information from the account (with certain exceptions). 
    • Not target or suggest ads, accounts, or content. 

Teens have voiced concerns that this approach potentially restricts their access to the helpful parts of social media, while giving their parents too much control and visibility into what they are doing online. Let’s look at the research on these two concerns. 

Do restrictive approaches work? 

In the past, when policies restrict teens’ access to things like sex, drugs, or unsafe activities in an all-or-nothing way, they are not effective. For example, research has found that abstinence-only sex education in school does not decrease the rate of teens having intercourse, and the D.A.R.E program that urged teens to “just say no” to drugs had only a very small impact on drug use. A review found that the “scared straight” program that aims to decrease juvenile delinquency actually led to an increase in criminal offenses. One reason may be because, developmentally, teens are seeking independence and therefore may push back against tight restrictions.  

What is the best approach to parenting around social media? 

When it comes to restrictive parenting around media, research shows that strict all-or-nothing rules are less effective than approaches that support teens’ autonomy or independence. Additional research demonstrates that too many restrictive rules around media is associated with more child depression symptoms. When parents are engaged in their teens’ social media use, listen to their concerns, and support the teen in their own decision-making, teens have less anxiety and depressive symptoms and handle cyberbullying better. In general, parenting experts agree that autonomy support – sensitively helping children and teens but not being over-controlling – is linked with better child mental health. 

Restrictive laws would make it harder for teens who are homeless or in the foster care system to access social media. And teens who have parents who don’t support their identity (e.g., sexuality, gender, neurodiversity) or cultural interests (e.g., types of art, music, books) might not get approval to open a social media account; or if they do, their parents’ access to everything they see and do may lead to more conflict. For these reasons, many youth advocates suggest that the responsibility needs to be placed on technology companies, not the families, to make social media a healthier place.   

What about the other parts of the law? 

The Utah law includes recommendations for privacy defaults, data collection and targeted advertising. These types of regulations are important and have been adopted in the United Kingdom and European Union – where they do not require parental approval to open social media accounts.  Why are they important? 

  • Privacy settings help prevent minors from receiving unwanted contact, such as direct messages from people or marketers, sexual advances/comments, or harassment. Research shows these are unfortunately common when teens’ accounts are public. 
  • Data collection minimization helps kids to not be shown or recommended content or ads based on individual characteristics like some mental health challenges, impulsivity, or body dissatisfaction that can be profiled based on their online activity. This gives young people more freedom to navigate platforms and select what they’d like to engage with rather than be influenced by what the platform knows about them. 
  • Stopping targeted advertising can help reduce unfair advertising practices based on kids’ identities or psychological characteristics. 
  • More user controls and setting options give teen social media users more agency or control over their usage, such as: 1) what shows up in their feeds/algorithm, 2) turning off design features like infinite scroll that keep them online longer, and 3) planning when to take breaks.  
Additional Resources: 
  • Design It for Us is a youth-led coalition that advocates for safer online platforms and social media. They are pushing for products and policies that respect their privacy and safety. To achieve their vision, they support 5 key principles: 
    • The responsibility of safety rests on Big Tech. 
    • Address the business model. 
    • Provide and prioritize user agency. 
    • Algorithmic accountability. 
    • Data use, minimization, and user control. 
  • In this report from the Wheatley Institution, the authors examine how specific teen use patterns and parenting practices are related to adolescent mental health. They also describe what parents can do to try to mitigate harm (see page 38 for specific tips). 
  • The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine expert panel on social media and youth mental health released a detailed report with recommendations for policymakers, regulators, industry, and others in an effort to maximize the good and minimize the bad. Focus areas include platform design, transparency and accountability, digital media literacy among young people and adults, online harassment, and supporting researchers. Specifically, they recommend that social media companies work together to create industry standards that prioritize young people’s wellbeing over profits.  
  • #HalfTheStory is a nonprofit organization that works with educational institutions, state and federal governments, and Fortune 500 companies to create new standards for the future surrounding social media and the digital landscape. They envision a world where youth aren’t consumed by unregulated algorithms, big data does not control their lives, and where digital wellbeing is a fundamental human right. They focus on educating stakeholders, advocating for policy changes, and creating a sense of community in real life (IRL).  

References 

 

 

Age: 10-17  

Topics: Utah, social media regulation/laws, restriction, mediation, autonomy support, privacy defaults, data collection, targeted advertising 

Role: Youth/Teen 

Last Updated

04/03/2024

Source

American Academy of Pediatrics