Good Luck Banning Minors From Social Media, Texas…

The Texas House passed House Bill 186 today, which prohibits kids under 18 from using social media.

Here's what we know...

The bill was penned by 42-year-old staunch conservative Rep. Jared Patterson, who believes "social media is the most harmful product that our kids have legal access to in Texas."

Patterson believes that the recent increase in teen suicide directly correlates with social media use and dedicated the bill to those who have taken their lives after dealing with "social media addiction." He also believes social media companies are getting too much information from our kids through the collected data.

Opponents disagree...

Democratic State Rep. Eric Zwiener argues that the data companies would need to verify a person's age would give even MORE important information to social media companies than what they are already getting.

An ACLU attorney with the Texas branch, Brian Klosterboer, called the law "unconstitutional" because parents would have no say in whether or not their children could use social media. He also pointed out that lots of young people use social media apps for things like youth organizations, clubs, and school research, and all of those things would be banned under this bill, posing quite a problem.

My two cents..

I think it's ridiculous to try to ban teens from using social media for many reasons, but I'd argue it could be even more dangerous to a child's mental health for them to be banned from the place where they communicate with their peers most often. Social media apps keep teens connected with their friends. Not all kids are social butterflies at school. Some thrive in online interactions instead and depend on social media to be able to communicate with friends far away.

If anything, taking away social media will probably make teenagers MORE suicidal.

I'm not buying into the notion that they will be happier without it. That's just not true. They'll be lonesome, and they also won't be able to see the BIG PICTURE of what's going on in the world in the news and opinions shared in social media feeds.

For some reason, I have a sneaking suspicion that's what it's really all about. Not wanting them to see behind the veil. I feel like there are serious ulterior motives with this bill.

Also, I don't know if you've ever tried to take a phone from a teenager (or an adult, for that matter), but it's not easy. There will be war. Not to mention, 25% of Texas's population is under 18, and most teens know how to use the internet and their phone better than adults...

Good luck.