Legislation sponsored by Senator Ed Durr that establishes a commission to study the effects that social media usage has on students both inside and outside of public school was signed into law today.

“The widespread use of social media has connected younger people to an endless stream of information that can shape their perception of reality and negatively impact their mental and emotional state. We’ve heard the horror stories of students who have been bullied or harassed on various social media sites and how this has impacted their ability to learn in school,” said Durr (R-3). “By studying the impact that social media usage is having on kids today, we can determine ways to limit their exposure to negative information and interactions online. This commission will help determine how we can improve students mental and emotional health as well as their academic performance.”

Durr’s bill, S-715, establishes the Commission on Effects of Social Media Usage on Adolescents to better address the mental and emotional needs of students to help improve their academic performance. determine how social media usage among various age groups is impacting students emotional, physical, and mental development as well as academic performance.

The commission will examine how exposure to social media impacts students’ emotional health by examining incidents of depression, anxiety, harassment, body dysmorphia, bullying and other various forms of disruptive or violent behaviors. Additionally, the commission will determine how social media usage impacts their physical health by studying incidents of sleep deprivation, weight fluctuations, and high blood pressure.

Under the bill, the commission is tasked with establishing social media usage standards and effective strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of social media to help improve students’ academic performance.

“Using social media in a learning environment is a distraction that not only negatively impacts a student’s academic performance, but can lead to larger problems with their mental, physical, and emotional health,” Durr added. “We need to protect our students from the damaging impact that social media can have on their young minds when they are both in and out of school. This law is a great first step to study the impact of social media usage so we can better understand how to address the mental health needs of students.”