We Need to Regulate Social Media

It goes by different names - such as doom scrolling, revenge bedtime procrastination, consulting one's echo chamber - but the result is the same: we're spending too much time on social media apps. I have been taking some conscious steps to make sure I'm spending less time on these apps, but we need to do more to protect everyone (especially the most vulnerable) from overuse and damaging impacts. I believe this goes beyond freedom of speech and is more of a public health issue.

We live in a time where we have access to all the information we could ever need at our fingertips. Many of us, personally, saw the transition from referencing encyclopedia at home or the library to Googling on our phones. While these advancements are a significant step forward for the accumulation of knowledge (and equity of distributing information), it also comes with more and more risks. Information is gathered from various sources, and we have grown accustomed to accepting headlines without much inspection -- and we've already seen countless examples of AI simply fabricating studies and results to lend credibility to incorrect ideas.

The unfortunate reality is that a wide swath of Americans receive their news from social media. As of 2025 there are studies that show that it's actually a majority of Americans. What makes that more unfortunate, is that these companies are beholden to no one except their stockholders (or founders). And they have demonstrated several times over that they cannot be trusted to self-regulate. It's time that we expose social media to the same constraints as traditional media. I know what the billionaire proprietors of these platforms would say, "AJ Zylberfink wants to trample on the first amendment", but that's blatantly false.

These companies are 'media' companies, they are stifling freedom of speech, and there are rules and regulations that need to apply. This is largely due to their classification from Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. That's right, a law that was written before there was any social media (before Myspace even existed). This is a ridiculously outdated 'shield' that must be removed.

With respect to children, there is no denying the obvious negative impacts that social media is having on our youth. Studies show clearly that increased social media use results in increased anxiety, depression, poor body image, cyberbullying, sleep disruption, and addiction. it can also affect impulse control, social behavior, emotional regulation and sensitivity to social punishments and rewards. We're training our children through dopamine hits of online engagement and algorithms that promote anger and fear. Social media is a massive challenge to the fabric of our communities, it facilitates connections that you might not otherwise have, but it also encourages an isolation from our local surroundings and breaks down our ability to engage with people who think different from us.

I'm not calling to abolish social media, but we need to treat these platforms like traditional media. We need oversight over the algorithms and we must limit its use for our children. Australia has recently led the way by banning social media for youth. I don't think we need a total ban (as that has other logistical challenges) but we need increased regulation and to put limits on its use.