A bill that will prohibit the use of social media by teens under the age of 16 was recently passed by the Florida House of Representatives on Jan. 17 and is now headed to the Senate. Junior Tanisha Bertilien said she sees the benefits that this could have on kids and teens.

“I see [the bill as] a positive because it will help keep younger kids safe from some of the dangerous and scary situations social media can cause and help them stay away from certain things or people,” Bertilien said.

Sophomore Ziva Lopez said she feels as though a ban would be an infringement upon the freedoms of teens.

“Several negatives can come from this, one major issue being that it might not change anything,” Lopez said. “Strict rules or a ban like this can only bring about sneakier behavior. Already, people lie about ages to access websites or just to do it. Other than that, [it may] harm some means of communication between clubs, activities and outside media some might be participating in. Maybe [the social media being used is] just an online space where people chat and hang out and nothing serious.”

The goal of the bill is to protect youths from the dangers of social media, but senior Grace Pearson said she doubted it would change anything.

“People have been lying about their age online since online was a thing,” Grace Pearson said. “When I was six, I was making an account on YouTube, and it said, ‘Oh, you have to be 13 or older,’ and so I said I was thirteen or older. It’s so easy to just put in an age that makes you allowed to use the platform, so I really think they’re not going to be able to enforce it and it won’t really have an effect.”

In addition to concerns about how age verification will work, sophomore Cora Pearson — who would be affected by the ban, should it be enacted into law — said parents should decide whether or not their children are allowed to have social media accounts.

“If parents want their kids to have a social media account or are OK with them having a social media account, they’re going to let their kids have a social media account,” Cora Pearson said. “I don’t understand how it’ll be enforced. If they have us scan IDs or something, kids are going to scan their parent’s ID, and they probably won’t limit us to just one account because so many people have multiple accounts. There’s genuinely no way to truly enforce it because what’s stopping a nine-year-old from taking their parent’s ID if that’s what’s required? It’s not going to do anything because ultimately, it’s up to the parents. In theory, it could be beneficial because I feel like TikTok especially has really influenced a lot of young, young girls — all of the nine-year-olds using retinol and Drunk Elephant when all they really need is a good moisturizer. However, I think it’s ultimately up to the parents to decide, not the government.”

By Hannah Jones