“I commend the Florida legislature for taking decisive action to protect young people from the harmful effects of social media.
“Teenagers are spending more time on social media, with a majority now spending five hours a day, on average, on these platforms. This contributes to significant mental health challenges and negative effects on educational outcomes.
“Depression, suicidal thoughts and attempts and other serious mental health issues have all worsened in young people since access to social media has become mainstream. We’re also better understanding the effects of time spent on devices and social media platforms on educational outcomes.
“A recent report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) noted a connection between the amount of screen time a student engages with and their relative math performance. We know from other research that addictive algorithms and other embedded features of social media platforms are driving the behavior that has proven to be so harmful to young people.
“Florida has a long history of putting reasonable guardrails in place to protect children and teens. I’m proud that our state is poised to do the same with social media.
“Speaker Paul Renner should be applauded for his undeterred commitment to the issue, and Sen. Erin Grall and Reps. Tyler Sirois, Fiona McFarland and Michelle Rayner should be commended for shepherding this important issue through the legislature this session.”
