An 18 Year-Old’s Reflection on Social Media Harms & Policy Opportunities
If I had a power and a platform to create change, I would write a bill that defaults social media users under 18 “off” the algorithms that trap them in echo chambers. This year, I committed to a social media detox for two months with the organization NoSo (nosonovember.org). It gave me more time to assess the impact of social media in my life. When you take a detox like this, you actually have time to think deeply about the world around you. It was time I lived in the real world, and I am not sure I will ever go back to social media. My mother used to lecture me about “aha moments” and I think I finally understand what she meant. Social media is so addictive, but it is also dangerous and manipulative. Without it, I spent time outside, focused on sleep, made more friends, and tried new things. My clarity improved, and thus, my writing and goals improved.
I believe it was last spring, after finishing the Netflix series Adolescence, that I began thinking about the dangers of social media algorithms. The series Adolescence follows thirteen year old Jamie, who is arrested for murdering his female classmate. The show concludes that his exposure to social media algorithms, where harmful and extremist content is amplified and reinforced, directly contributed to his violence. His online world became an echo chamber, where users like him find themselves trapped in a space where opposing views are removed. As in the show, real life echo chambers reinforce and also escalate one’s point of view. While this may sound harmless, these spaces actively perpetuate violence. Numerous studies have proven the negative effects of adolescent social media usage on a developing brain. Worse, there are currently no federal laws to protect against this threat.
While I believe that social media algorithms were originally constructed this way to increase user engagement, I now know that they are the cause of addictive, harmful behaviors and a multitude of mental health challenges. Companies who have developed these algorithms provide no transparency. My belief is that it will be impossible to ban algorithms outright, but simply defaulting anyone under 18 “off” of them may be possible. The movie Adolescence speaks for itself. There’s really no better example of the negative outcomes that come from lack of legislation.
I’ve been researching for a digital wellness council that I am on those who champion the cause of keeping kids out of echo chambers. My research led me to Senator Brian Schatz who put forth the S. 278 Kids Off Social Media Act in January 2025. The bill’s intention is to limit children’s access to social media platforms. Senator Schatz’s bill prohibits social media platforms from allowing children under 13 to create or maintain accounts. It enforces the deletion of the account and their user data. This would help keep younger kids off the apps, but it doesn't protect children older than 13 from echo chambers.
This past August, I participated in a digital wellness symposium. Someone asked what issue affects today’s kids the most. In response, I said that parents spend too much time trying to protect their children in the real world when the virtual world is socializing us just as much. I just reread the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury because my Abuela used to read it to my sister and me when we were little. There are many parallels to the control of content in social media to the control of the TVs. Rarely do you see kids my age walking around with books; instead, they have their phones out. Common Sense Media says on average kids under 18 use social media 4 hours per day.
Although this should be federal law, I have recently read that states like New York and Virginia are making changes at the local level. The SAFE for Kids Act protects minors from social media by enforcing parental consent under 18. On January 1, 2026, Virginia will restrict social media use for children under 16 to one hour per day. As I am now a Youth Leader for a Digital Detox and Wellness non-profit, I’m going to follow this type of change and try to champion it. Technology companies will fight federal laws because it will decrease users and revenues. However, defaulting anyone under 18 “off” of the algorithms of social media is an easy step towards protecting kids. This, paired with NY’s SAFE law enacted at the federal level, would lessen the dangerous effects of these algorithms.
I am going to keep detoxing from social media and following what legislators are doing to protect children. At eighteen, I already see a major difference between my usage and younger boys' usage of social media. Exposing yourself to content that is unregulated and controlled by technology companies can impact your development. Since it is so new, I am sure it is being studied now. Many of my friends have experienced depression and anxiety because they spend their free time online and are not present in the real world.
It’s like the Matrix movie series franchise, it is time we all unplug ourselves and wake-up. The technological fall of humanity is not a dystopian novel, it could very well become the real world.
John Maida
