Social media is a bad idea when it comes to kids. Why? The platforms harm young people and they know it – and they do not care.

     When a former Facebook executive blew the whistle on the industry a few years ago, she made it clear that the giant know what it was doing. Internal memos included phrases like “We make body image issues worse for 1 in 3 teen girls” and “Teens blame Instagram for increases in the rate of anxiety and depression.” Facebook knows and has known for a while that its Instagram platform is harmful to the mental health of a large share of young users, who report feeling addicted to scrolling images on the app even though it made them feel bad about themselves and, in some cases, promotes eating disorders and self-harm. But it it continues to pursue engaging teenagers as key to growing its profits.

     Since parents are apparently not going to monitor and adjust, and the company itself is not, it is going to be up to an outside force to do so. And while the government cannot and should not violate first amendment rights by outlawing the platforms or their usage, they can force companies to pay attention to the harm they are doing and insist that they find ways to avoid doing so. Legislation that would hold social media companies liable for harm caused to children who become addicted to their platforms, would essentially prod the companies to eliminate addictive features from minors’ accounts and give parents new rights to sue if they don’t. 

     This may seem like harsh standards, and first amendment fans may push back, but the sad truth is that our young people are seeing far more than they should on social media sites and it is hurting them. It’s time to stand up for the common good and the mental health of the young people in our countries and make social media platforms focus on doing good rather than on their profit margins.