Worldwide, 4.59 billion people use social media, and 71% of them report that it facilitates their creativity. However, lawmakers highlight social media’s tendency to distract from productivity in Senate Bill 976. SB 976 was proposed by Sen. Nancy Skimmer and Attorney General Rob Bonta this past month. The bill, if passed, will stop both social media apps from sending notifications to children late at night and social media apps from putting addictive advertisements on children’s social media feeds. California’s SB 976 will attack these silent productivity killers from the inside out.
Introduced in 1997, social media forums have been around for decades and were primarily used by the older generation. The initial purpose of using social media was solely to keep in touch with loved ones as a way to catch up with family and friends without really speaking to them. However, social media has since blossomed into a larger outlet for people to engage creatively. Opposers of the bill argue that social media is here to stay, and we should encourage children to use technology to their advantage. For example, take beauty blogger Fiona Frills. Frills was 16 when she began posting on social media. Immediately, the teenager gathered a huge following. Frills used this to her advantage and put her entrepreneurial spirit into practice. By marketing makeup products to her followers, Frills was able to make her dreams of being a businesswoman manifest into reality. Opponents of this bill fail to realize that SB 976 is not barring children from using social media but instead lessening the addictive aspects of the feeds of underage kids.
Lawmakers and researchers worry about the negative emotions social media stirs in children’s minds. All these emotions stem from comparison — the enemy of confidence. This phenomenon is colloquially known as Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). When seeing an image of another person smiling or enjoying themselves, the viewer will wish they could be experiencing that happiness. These users are usually kids and can’t distinguish between true and false images. Although social media isn’t entirely to blame, it maintains a place for these negative emotions to roam. These concerns are the driving force behind SB 976. Fostering a FOMO-filled environment is another way social media pries into a child’s productive and energized mind.
Additionally, the bill is forecasted to have no negative economic impacts. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) publically publishes cost amounts to its website for every bill passed. However, since SB 976 has not been formally passed yet and was only introduced, its cost can be compared to that of a similar bill. For example, Senate Bill 61, the “Combating Cartels on Social Media Act of 2023,” successfully eradicated a majority of cartel members on social media sites such as WhatsApp, Telegram and Instagram who were using the system to recruit human smugglers. Like this bill, SB 976 is forecasted to have no negative economic effects. With a bill that costs little for the government and has positive intentions for the future generation, there is minimal reason for anyone to oppose this legislation.
If Californians vote in favor of SB 976, children will be more productive and get more rest because the bill hinders social media sites’ ability to send kids notifications in the middle of the night. Additionally, children will be less addicted to these social media sites because the bill reduces their exposure to addictive advertisements on kids’ social media feeds. By voting in favor of SB 976, California’s generation will be equipped with the skills to combat distraction and any other issues they face.
