ADDICTION to social media has grown to be one of the most popular uses of social media in the United States. Kids and adults around the world post 15 seconds to three minutes of skits or informational videos about all sorts of topics. Rumors have gone around that the Utah Governor, Spencer J Cox, had signed a bill that restricts or all right removes access to Instagram or TikTok from the Youth. This bill should take effect starting March 1, 2024.
Spencer J Cox had played around with the idea of banning social media throughout Utah. On December 12, 2022, Spencer J Cox ordered a ban on TikTok on any state-owned device, claiming that China’s potential to collect data is a cybersecurity threat. This forces all employees of the agency to delete TikTok from their devices to further protect important state information.
One of the most popular uses of social media is TikTok, TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a company headquartered in China. ByteDance collects users’ personal information and is constantly tracking their locations. ByteDance has acknowledged that employees have access to all users’ data, but they refuse to cut TikTok’s data flow to China and their employees. This worries the U.S. government as China’s laws allow access to any company’s database as long as it’s headquartered in China.
This is a big change to somebody’s everyday life, and Lancers certainly have some opinions.
“Honestly, I feel like it’s a good thing because everyone’s so addicted to what’s going on their phones,” Jose Perez (10) said. “I have a younger brother, and all he does is scroll on TikTok — bro barely goes outside,” he said.
The only way to get past the social media restriction is to get proof of a guardian’s consent. Students have to be over 18 years old to receive access to social media. This is aimed at minors. It is important to protect them from dangers, such as sexual predators or cyberbullies. “Yeah, it’s a good thing that they’re adding this new law, it protects me and my little siblings from weird people,” said Perez.
Beyond the social media restrictions, there are still rules set in place to protect youth such as an adjustable curfew from 10:30 PM – 6:30 AM. The default setting can be modified by a guardian if necessary. This new bill allows parents to access all sorts of messages, history, posts, and responses. This allows them to limit what children can do and how long they can do it. “It’s a good thing because I don’t want my little sister to be exposed to anything, and it stops her from being addicted,” Raul Antonio Garcia Garcia (10) said.
Spencer J Cox is also introducing a second bill that prevents social media platforms from using features and techniques that make their platform more addicting. This bill was introduced due to heightened concern about social media platforms’ users promoting self-harm and other inappropriate things to an impressionable, young audience, which contributes to the mental health crisis that minors are experiencing.
This mental health crisis has gone even as far as the Government Legislature creating new bills and laws to protect the youth.
