When legislators commenced examining the impact of social media on children in 2021, Zamaan Qureshi was captivated.
Since middle school he’d observed his friends struggle with eating disorders, anxiety, and depression, problems he said were “intensified” by platforms like Snapchat and Instagram.
Qureshi’s long-standing concerns were thrust into the national spotlight when Meta whistleblower Frances Haugen published documents connecting Instagram to adolescent mental health issues. But as the revelations sparked a surge of bills to enhance safeguards for children online, he grew frustrated at who seemed absent from the discussion: young people, like himself, who had experienced the technology from a young age.
“There was little to no dialogue about young people and … what they believed should be done,” said Qureshi, 21, a senior at American University.
So last year, Qureshi and a coalition of students established Design It For Us, an advocacy group aimed at bringing the perspectives of young people to the forefront of the conversation about online safety.
They are part of a growing network of youth advocacy and activist organizations demanding a voice as policymakers consider new regulations to govern children’s online activity.
The abundance of federal and state proposals has become a rallying cry for a cohort of activists seeking to shape laws that could revolutionize how their generation engages with technology. As policymakers contemplate significant changes to the laws overseeing children online, including measures at the federal and state levels that prohibit children under 13 from accessing social media and require those under 18 to obtain parental consent to log on, the young advocates — some still in their teenage years — have been quick to get involved.
Now, youth activists have emerged as a formidable lobbying force in capitals throughout the country. Youth groups are meeting with top decision-makers, gaining support from the White House and British royalty, and influencing legislative proposals, including persuading federal lawmakers to scale back parental control measures in one major bill.
“The tides are definitely changing,” said Sneha Revanur, 18, another member of Design It For Us.
However, this prominence does not necessarily translate into influence. Many activists said their greatest obstacle is ensuring that policymakers take their input seriously.
“We want to be viewed as valuable collaborators, not just a symbolic presence,” Qureshi said.
In Washington, D.C., Design It For Us has participated in numerous meetings with House and Senate leaders, White House officials, and other advocates. In February, the group made its first appearance testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“We cannot afford to wait another year, another month, another week, or another day to begin protecting the next generation,” Emma Lembke, 20, who co-founded the organization with Qureshi, said in her testimony.
Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), who chairs the panel and met with the group again in July, stated that Lembke “delivered compelling testimony” and that their meetings were part of “many conversations that I’ve had with young people demonstrating the next generation’s demand for change.”
Revanur said policymakers often place too much emphasis on technical or political expertise and not enough on digital natives’ lifetime of experience and understanding of technology’s potential for harm.
“There’s so much focus on a specific set of credentials: having a PhD in computer science or years of experience working on Capitol Hill,” said Revanur, a sophomore at Williams College. “It diminishes the significance of the credentials that youth possess, which is the credential of lived experience.”
Revanur, who founded the youth-led group Encode Justice, which concentrates on artificial intelligence, has met with officials at the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), urging them to consider concerns about how AI could be utilized for school surveillance as they developed a voluntary AI bill of rights.
The former acting director of the office, Alondra Nelson, led the Encode Justice initiative, which aimed to bring policy issues to life by highlighting both real and imagined harms caused by technologies such as facial recognition cameras and persistent surveillance. Vice President Harris invited youth activist Revanur to speak at a roundtable on AI, which Revanur considered a significant turning point in legitimizing youth voices in the field. Sam Hiner, a college student, found that social media negatively impacted his productivity and socialization on campus. Hiner worked with lawmakers and children's safety groups to introduce state legislation that prohibits platforms from using minors' data to target them with content. The state bill, known as the Social Media Algorithmic Control in Information Technology Act, has gained over 60 sponsors. Hiner's group, Design It For Us, received a grant from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Responsible Technology Youth Power Fund. Youth activists' lobbying efforts have also made an impact in Washington, where Design It For Us led a week of action calling for the expansion of federal privacy protections for younger users and the creation of a legal obligation for tech platforms to prevent harms to kids. Their efforts resulted in the exclusion of teens from a provision in the Kids Online Safety Act that required parental consent for accessing digital platforms. Digital rights groups have expressed concerns about the legislation's potential impact on data collection and parental control. The youth advocates' mobilization influenced Senator Richard Blumenthal, the lead sponsor of the bill, and helped build support for the legislation. Youth advocates also attended a White House event where President Biden endorsed the Kids Online Safety Act and the children's privacy bill. Funding for these advocacy groups comes from various sources, including the Omidyar Network, which supports organizations opposing Big Tech in Washington.
Some young activists are opposing strict protections for children online, arguing that these measures would increase surveillance and harm marginalized groups. Fight for the Future, a digital activist group, has been collaborating with numerous young grassroots activists who are mobilizing support against these bills. Sarah Philips, an organizer for Fight for the Future, emphasizes that young people's opinions on the matter should not be seen as uniform. The organization has received numerous concerns from younger users who fear that proposed restrictions by policymakers could stifle online speech. Philips also notes that the youth she works with, who are often queer, transgender, and people of color, have different experiences both online and offline. Additionally, there are still uncertainties regarding the scientific basis of legislation aimed at protecting children. While studies have shown that excessive social media use can lead to increased anxiety, depression, and body image issues among young users, recent reports from the American Psychological Association and the U.S. Surgeon General have highlighted the complexity of this issue and called for further research. These reports acknowledge that social media can also foster positive social experiences for young people. The aim of young activists is not to eliminate social media but rather to implement reforms and policies that create a safer online environment while preserving the positive connections it offers.
