RONNIE SAENZ / ASST. OPINION EDITOR

Social media has been around since the beginning of the century with the first globally released platform, MySpace, which launched in 2003.  However, its popularity exploded after its implementation onto phones and other handheld devices. Once social media became widely available, it was no longer a question of if you’ll get social media, but when. 

The average kid in the U.S. gets their first smartphone at age 10.3, according to a 2018 report by Influence Central, and the same report shows that U.S. kids open their first social media account by age 11.4. Yet, in accordance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, no child under the age of 13 should be allowed on social media.

There is clearly a problem of underage use of social media so much so that Meta, the parent company to social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, is facing a federal lawsuit this week, from 33 different U.S. states according to CNN.  Their social media platforms are accused of being too addictive to minors. Due to its sheer addictiveness and potential to harm the brain, social media users should be at least 16, the same age someone is allowed to drive and work, so they are mature enough to moderate their own social media use.

As a tween, social media is used for social connection, entertainment or escapism which is fine, but — according to a 2019 study by the Mayo Clinic — the developing brain isn’t capable of handling more than three hours of social media at a time, without developing mental health problems. 

There are studies by California State University and the University of Pittsburg about the dangers of long term social media use and how it causes negative body image, anxiety and depression in adolescents. These studies highlight key issues, while also completely overlooking others that can come with social media; take for instance cyberbullying. However, they still show the importance of moderating your time on social media.

Not only is too much social media use bad for teens’ mental health, but thanks to the algorithms designed to grab your attention and keep you on the site, it’s also highly addictive. So, it’s very easy for adolescents to use it excessively and develop these problems. 

In fact, the lawsuits are alleging Meta is going out of its way to make their platforms more addictive. The lawsuit is the culmination of a bipartisan investigation in 2021, when whistleblower Frances Haugen revealed Meta knew about the negative effects its products have on young people. The current lawsuit alleges that Meta has lied about the safety of its social media sites and as a result violated the states’ consumer protection laws. 

Meta isn’t the only platform being scrutinized for this. According to CNN, 33 Attorney Generals, including California Attorney General Rob Bonta, plan to target other social media platforms such as TikTok and Snapchat for the same reasons.

Some claim social media is now a part of socializing, and without it teens will be socially inept. Social media does help people connect with each other and has a lot of other positive benefits. To claim teens can’t benefit from social media at all is a stretch, but the problem is finding that balance between time on social media and everything else. 

Although  balanced use of social media is fine, it doesn’t mean teens are responsible enough to know how to use it in moderation. According to The Addiction Center, excessive use of social media can hurt a teen’s socialization skills. 

In my opinion, someone at the age of 13 would have a very hard time moderating their social media use if left unchecked, but someone at 16 is more mature and experienced enough to know how to moderate. According to the CDC, 16-year-olds are more independent and have a clearer sense of their place in the world. These are key traits to keeping responsible screen time on social media. 

After all, if 16 year olds are responsible enough to hold a job and drive a car, they are responsible enough to monitor their time on Instagram. That way, we can minimize the deficits of too much social media time by waiting until users are old enough to understand how to regulate their use, but not entirely ban it and minimize the potential benefits of socialization.

Social media revolutionized our social lives to such an extent that many of us wouldn’t know how to live without it. Even though it has become increasingly important to us as a society, social media like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok should not be available to anyone below the age of 16. Before it becomes law, we need to take responsibility and teach our youth to use social media responsibly.