Is Social Media the New Cigarette? The Growing Momentum for Age Restrictions in Texas

It is a parent’s dream and every teenager's nightmare. Could minors be banned from social media in Texas?

A Worldwide Trend to Ban Teens from Social Media

Many nations find it hard to agree on many issues on the international level, but social media bans for minors could be a unifying issue. The number of studies that find social media has a harmful effect on minors continues to grow, and many nations are taking steps to do something about it. A ban on social media for those under the age of 16 just went into effect in Australia, while Denmark, France, Germany and Norway have restrictions or plans to ban the platforms for teenagers.

Efforts Have Been Made to Ban Social Media for Teens in Texas

Republican State Rep. Jared Patterson has made a couple of efforts to distance teenagers from social media, without success. Past efforts tried to ban Texans under the age of 18 from accessing social media platforms, but Representative Patterson has a different plan for next year. Patterson told “Inside Texas Politics” on WFAA, “I think like Australia, we’re going to come back next session and move that age down to 16. I think that was some feedback that we got from some parents and from others, you know, kind of talking about the ages and using the last couple of years of high school to kind of get familiar with it.”

Consistency is Key

Rep. Patterson is not giving up on his goal. According to KCEN, his first attempt at the social media ban in 2023 did not progress far. His second attempt at the beginning of this year got through the House and Senate Committee before the session ended.

How Would a Social Media Ban for Teenagers Work?

Representative Patterson told WFAA that he believes an age verification system (like those used with pornography websites) would work in preventing teenagers from accessing social media platforms. He said courts have been favorable to age verification systems.

Support for a Ban is Slowly Building

When the 90th Regular Legislative Session rolls around in 2027, Representative Patterson believes the public will be more supportive of the ban...telling WFAA,“I think people are starting to realize now more than ever that our kids are killing themselves at a clip that we’ve never seen before in history, that social media is a dangerous product for them to have access to. In fact, I think it’s the most dangerous product that kids have legal access to in Texas.”