By Okon Ekpenyong

Governor DeWine has said that “evidence is building that social media platforms can have a negative impact on kids’ mental health and well-being.”

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted joined by Tony Coder of the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation and the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services Director Lori Criss to discuss the Social Media Parental Notification Act and other mental health priorities in the state budget.

“In addition, social media platforms can expose kids to predators who want to exploit them.  If teens must get parental consent when they see an R-rated movie because of exposure to inappropriate content, it only makes sense that parents give kids permission to have social media accounts.”

The social media Parental Notification Act, included in the Executive Version of the State Operating Budget and championed by Lt. Governor Husted, aims to help protect Ohio’s children from dangers online that can lead to mental health issues. The act would require certain online companies to obtain verifiable parental or legal guardian consent to contractual terms of service before permitting kids under the age of 16 to use their platforms.

“The Surgeon General and children’s health experts have concluded that these platforms are responsible for negative physical and mental health outcomes for a generation of our children, and it is our responsibility to protect them by holding social media companies accountable for the consequences of what happens on their platforms,” said Lt. Governor Husted.

“Requiring social media companies to get parental approval before children under 16 have access to these addictive platforms is one way we can help parents protect their children.”

Under the proposal, companies must:

• Create a method to determine whether the user is a child under the age of 16
• Obtain verifiable parental or legal guardian consent if the user is under the age of 16
• Send written confirmation of the consent to the parent or legal guardian.

This May, the U.S. Surgeon General doubled down on his warning with the release of an updated Advisory on social media and Youth Mental Health.

With adolescence and childhood representing a critical stage in brain development that can make young people more vulnerable to harms from social media, the Surgeon General called for urgent action by policymakers, technology companies, researchers, families, and young people alike to gain a better understanding of the full impact of social media use, maximize the benefits and minimize the harms of social media platforms, and create safer, healthier online environments to protect children.

“The Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation is grateful to Governor DeWine and Lt. Governor Husted for their leadership and commitment to youth mental health and strongly support this effort to educate on the impacts that excessive social media use has on the mental health of youth,” said Tony Coder, Executive Director of the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation.

“As we work with families who have been impacted by suicide through loss or youth attempts, social media use is a common topic of conversation into their children’s worsening mental health. By educating parents and youth about the impacts of social media use, this will play a role in improving youth mental health wellness.”

The Governor’s 2024-2025 budget proposal prioritizes mental health and significantly invests funds to prevent and treat mental illness, including:

• $8 million each over the next two fiscal years to continue and expand proven suicide prevention programs and strategies outlined in the 2020 Suicide Prevention Plan.
• $100 million for the creation of an innovative State of Ohio Action for Resiliency Network – or SOAR Network – to develop, evaluate, and implement increasingly effective mental health and addiction prevention, treatment, and recovery strategies.
• $50 million for pediatric behavioral health workforce, integration of behavioral and primary health, and development of Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (PRTF) — a specialty, secure residential option that is part of the State’s OhioRISE (Resilience through Integrated Systems and Excellence) initiative led by Ohio Medicaid.

In addition to the work the Lt. Governor is leading to hold social media companies accountable, the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS) is working to convene mental health experts and teens to identify ways to address the challenges and opportunities that social media presents to youth.

The work will include engaging families, schools, and community organizations to widely share best practices for helping build the skills needed to safely use social media.

“Social media is largely seen by teens as a place for connecting and socializing with their peers, but research shows that nearly a quarter of teens say these platforms make them feel worse about their own life,” said OhioMHAS Director Lori Criss.

“We are committed to working with the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Ohio’s leading prevention organizations to keep our youth healthy and safe by increasing awareness of these concerns and promoting helpful resources for families, educators, and healthcare professionals.”

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