Minnesota Catholic Conference Staff
A solution to minors spending too much time on social media without parental guidance is gaining traction at the Capitol. It’s called the Stop the Harms from Addictive Social Media Act (H.F. 4138 / S.F. 4696). This bipartisan bill would help alleviate the problems surrounding addiction through two key parts: 1) It would require verifiable parental consent for child accounts, and 2) it would require that social media platforms be less addictive by design for youth under 16. In practice, this means that features such as auto-play video, infinite scroll, targeted advertising, and others would be prohibited for youth accounts.
Consumed by social media
When, as a society, did we begin to allow young, impressionable minds to hand over nearly 20 percent of their time to billion-dollar corporations? Twenty percent of Minnesota high school students spend time online between midnight and 5:00 a.m. five nights a week. Ninety-seven percent of youth report using their phones during the school day.
Between waking up in the middle of the night to check their feeds and receiving an average of 240 notifications throughout the day, one wonders when children have time for in-person friendships, rest, and the mental capacity to retain classroom knowledge?
Nowhere else do we allow minors to enter a contract—not for sports, camps, or school outings. Yet they are allowed to sign over their data to Big Tech, and sometimes without their parents even knowing. The kids, then, become the products from which the platforms can profit.
Supporting parents
Although one could argue that parents should just be better parents and limit their kids’ time online if they feel the need, the reality is that parents need help. Not all parents are in a position to monitor their children as closely as they would like—they may work long hours or be a single parent just trying to keep up. And even parents who do their best to protect their children online often find themselves at a loss in an environment of rapidly advancing technology and tech-savvy kids.
Ensuring that the platforms are designed to be less addictive will help all children. If a parent provides consent, he or she can do so knowing that the most addictive features will be unavailable on child accounts. This puts all children on the same playing field while simultaneously stifling the addictive appeal.
Even the kids themselves recognize they face problems with social media use and have testified in support of this bill.
A 2025 Pew Research Study shows that 48 percent of teens say that social media has a mostly negative effect on people their age, a 16 percent increase in just three years. Additionally, studies link Instagram usage, especially in teen girls, to struggles with body image and self-worth. Instagram also has the highest percentage of adolescent users reporting cyberbullying.
Passing H.F. 4138 / S.F. 4696 would help curb some of the addictive appeal these platforms present, which should, in turn, help alleviate some of the mental health struggles today’s youth face, all while putting parents back in the driver’s seat.
Both are looking for a solution. Let’s urge the Legislature to deliver. Take action:https://www.mncatholic.org/protectkidsonline
The Minnesota Catholic Conference has packaged this bill with two others, putting forth a three-tiered approach to protecting youth from gun violence. You can learn more about that package here:https://www.mncatholic.org/protect_all_kids-parishes