House Rep. Brian Munroe, D-Warrinton, is pictured with Max Jin, Luka Jonjic and Dylan Schwartz, with an honorable mention award from the state House of Representatives for their documentary, “America’s Silent Struggle: Social Media’s Impact on Teens’ Mental Health.” The film received an honorable mention in C-SPAN’s Student Cam contest and prompted Munroe to work with the students on a legislative proposal.

A documentary by three Pennsylvania ninth-graders has led a state lawmaker to consider legislation creating additional protections for teens using social media.

Max Jin, Luka Jonjic, and Dylan Schwartz of Tamanend Middle School in Warrinton received an honorable mention award in C-SPAN’s recent Student Cam contest with their entry, “America’s Silent Struggle: SocialMedia’s Impact on Teens’ Mental Health”, a fictional example of a newly elected congressman working to pass legislation on social media and its impact on the mental health of youth.

“During this event, I suggested that we actually turn that into reality and work with myself and their parents in crafting a piece of legislation that would help tackle that issue,” Rep. Brian Munroe, D-Warminster, wrote in his co-sponsorship memorandum. “This legislation is a direct result of thorough conversations with these dedicated students”.

Munroe is drafting legislation that would require social media companies to monitor the chats of two or more minors on the platform while notifying parents if flagged sensitive or graphic content is seen.

Munroe also proposes strengthening proof of age verification on social media platforms by requiring consent from a parent or legal guardian before anyone under the age of 16 opens a social media account. Parents and guardians would also be notified if a child under the age of 16 opens a social media account without consent. Munroe also wants to prohibit data mining of users who are under the age of 18 and allow users to clear any data that was mined while they were under age.

A pair of Georgia state senators have proposed similar legislation be considered during the Georgia state legislature’s 2024 session and be modeled on a law Louisiana passed this year, according to the Associated Press. That law takes effect in 2024 and social media services must verify an account holder’s age and can’t let someone younger than 18 join without parental consent. Arkansas, Texas and Utah also passed laws this year requiring parental consent for children to use social media, according to the AP, while some federal lawmakers are also proposing parental consent for minors. California has also pass legislation requiring social media companies do more to protect children’s privacy and safety, according to the AP.

“Social media has become engrained in our everyday lives,” Monroe wrote. “More than ever before, young individuals utilize many different social media platforms daily to keep connected with friends and family or as a form of entertainment. However, social media platforms were never designed with protection of young users in mind. Young users are subject to large corporations creating platforms using targeted algorithms to form addictive usage patterns and prescribe harmful content. As a result of using social media, young users have expressed feelings of heightened anxiety and depression.”

The concerns of Munroe and the students are similar to those raised by U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy earlier this year. To comply with federal regulation, social media companies already ban kids under 13 from signing up to their platforms — but children have been shown to easily get around the bans, both with and without their parents’ consent. Up to 95% of youth ages 13 to 17 report using a social media platform, with more than a third saying they use social media “almost constantly,” according to the Pew Research Center. An Associated Press review of 42 studies found a link between social media use and poor sleep quality and depression among youth.

“I recognize technology companies have taken steps to try to make their platforms healthier and safer, but it’s simply not enough,” Murthy told The Associated Press in an interview. “You can just look at the age requirements, where platforms have said 13 is the age at which people can start using their platforms. Yet 40% of kids 8 through 12 are on social media. How does that happen if you’re actually