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nationwide survey of minors ages 12 to 18 found that 61% of teens thought they spent too
<br /> much time on their mobile devices, and 50%felt "addicted" to them.36 In a 2022 Pew Research
<br /> survey, 35%of teens said they are on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, or Facebook
<br /> "almost constantly.1131 And a report released last week by Amnesty International on young
<br /> people ages 13-24 found "a staggering 74% of respondents report checking their social media
<br /> accounts more than they would like to. Respondents bemoaned the 'addictive' lure of the
<br /> constant stream of updates and personalized recommendations, often feeling 'overstimulated'
<br /> and 'distracted.11'38
<br /> Problematic internet use, in turn, is linked to a host of additional problems. For example, one
<br /> study of 564 children between the ages of 7 and 15 found that problematic internet use was
<br /> positively associated with depressive disorders, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder,
<br /> general impairment, and increased sleep disturbances.39 A meta-analysis of peer-reviewed
<br /> studies involving cognitive findings associated with problematic internet use in both adults and
<br /> adolescents found "firm evidence that [problematic internet use]. . . is associated with cognitive
<br /> impairments in motor inhibitory control, working memory, Stroop attentional inhibition and
<br /> decision-making.1140 Another study of over 11,000 European adolescents found that among
<br /> teens exhibiting problematic internet use, 33.5% reported moderate to severe depression;
<br /> 22.2% reported self-injurious behaviors such as cutting; and 42.3% reported suicidal ideation.41
<br /> The rate of attempted suicides was a staggering ten times higher for teens exhibiting
<br /> problematic internet use than their peers who exhibited healthy internet use.42
<br /> Harm to physical health
<br /> Maximizing minors' time spent online at the expense of sleep or movement also harms their
<br /> physical health. When minors are driven to spend more time online, they sleep less for a variety
<br /> of reasons— because it is impossible to be online and sleep at the same time, because
<br /> stimulation before bedtime disrupts sleep patterns, and because many of the design features
<br /> used by online platforms make users feel pressured to be connected constantly, and that
<br /> feeling often doesn't go away at bedtime. Research shows that minors who exhibit problematic
<br /> sa Common Sense,Dealing with Devices:Parents, 10-11, (2016), I],,,I.aIr„i„a la:„i :a,i;,,,,
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<br /> 37 Emily A.Vogels et al., Teens, Social Media and Technology 2022, Pew Research Center(Aug. 10,2022),
<br /> https://www.pewresea rch.org/i nternet/2022/08/10/teen s-socia I-media-and-tech noIogy-2022.
<br /> 38Amnesty international,"We are totally exposed": Young people share concerns about social media's impact on
<br /> privacy and mental health in global survey(Feb.7,2023)
<br /> bt:G, eoale-social-media-su.srve -2 .
<br /> 39 Restrepo et al.,Problematic Internet Use in Children and Adolescents:Associations with Psychiatric Disorders and
<br /> Impairment,20 BMC Psychiatry 252(2020), https:Hdoi.org/10.1186/sl2888-020-02640-x.
<br /> 4' Konstantinos Ioannidis et al.,Cognitive Deficits in Problematic Internet Use:Meta-Analysis of 40 Studies,215
<br /> British Journal of Psychiatry 639,645(2019), https:Hpubmed.ncbi.nim.nih.gov/30784392/.
<br /> 41 Michael Kaess et al.,Pathological Internet use among European adolescents:psychopathology and self-
<br /> destructive behaviours,23 Eur.Child &Adolescent Psychiatry 1093, 1096(2014),
<br /> https://www.ncbi.nim.nih.gov/pmc/articies/PMC4229646/.
<br /> 42 Id.
<br /> Testimony of Josh Golin, Fairplay, February 14, 2023 7
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