Virginia’s General Assembly would be doing our future a great service if it could rein in social media addiction for young people, the inspiration behind legislation it has approved and sent to Gov. Glenn Youngkin for his consideration.
Were it as easy as enacting a state law limiting social media exposure for Virginians under age 16 to a maximum of one hour, we would solve many problems that unlimited access to platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube cause for vulnerable preteens and teens.
Unfortunately, it’s not so easy. That’s because parenting is essential.
A study by the American Psychological Association notes that at about age 10, when fundamental shifts in kids’ brains make them crave social rewards such as peer approval, we hand them smartphones and access to the internet. There, they have limitless opportunities for outreach and validation on those social media platforms. But experts warn that it can cause anxiety, depression and unrealistic body image concerns among many mental health problems. Increasingly, children are bullied to the point of self-harm or even suicide via social media, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Surely we all remember parental involvement. It was a guiding theme of Republican Glenn Youngkin’s insurgency campaign for governor just four years ago. The amiable, untested former hedge fund executive deftly cornered the nomination of a Virginia GOP battered during Donald Trump’s first presidency and eager to move on. He channeled the zeitgeist of Virginia voters weary of a leftward Democratic overreach in Virginia and of first-year President Joe Biden.
In a feat of political jiu jitsu in his first-ever campaign, Youngkin made Democrats own pandemic-era frustration over shuttered schools and remote learning; over accommodations made to transgender and transitioning students; over mandates that pupils wear masks when classrooms reopened.
As anger toward school boards boiled over, book bans and confrontations over curriculum became a rallying cry on the right, and it was a message that resonated with moderate parents. Youngkin advocated for more parental say in their children’s public schooling, and it played well enough in suburban areas such as Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads to deny Democrats the large margins they needed to offset a historic rural GOP turnout.
That year, seven school districts banned 11 titles, all of them dealing with gender, sexual orientation or race, according to data compiled by PEN America, a nationwide nonprofit that advocates for free expression for writers. Virginia Beach Public Schools led the way, axing six titles including Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye,” a novel set in the 1940s about a Black girl who grew up believing blue eyes would make her accepted and beautiful. In 2021, however, the book-ban movement was just getting started. The following year, 182 titles were challenged statewide, according to the American Library Association, and it more than doubled in 2023 to 387, the nation’s fifth-highest total.
We’d love to imagine that the 2021 ushered in a renaissance of close parental engagement with their children’s education and other pursuits, and not just a politically driven wave that swept conservatives into school board seats. Perhaps in some cases it did, but there’s no hard evidence of a subsequent groundswell of close parental involvement or oversight. At least not of the sort necessary to make Virginia’s social media bill highly effective. Ironically, if that sort of intimate attention by parents and guardians to their kids widely existed, there would be no need for laws such as this.
There’s a rich history of shielding kids from vices — and of kids indulging them anyway. Buying or possessing alcohol has long been illegal for anyone under age 21. (Full disclosure: the legal drinking age when this writer was young was 18, and I made the most of it.)
A 30-day CDC study of drug use among high schoolers found that during that span, more than one in five (22%) consumed alcohol, the most commonly used drug among youth. According to the CDC, 4,000 people under 21 die annually from excessive alcohol use. Also, underage drinking cost the United States $24 billion in 2010, the most recent year for which data are available. Adjusted for inflation, that’s $35.3 billion now.
The same study found that 17% of high schoolers used electronic vape products, the same ratio as those who used marijuana. Just 4% smoked cigarettes.
Addiction to social media, ever-present in the digital ether, bears less stigma than those more tangible vices. A more apt comparison would be to online pornography, something 19 states (including Virginia) ban for users under 18. Research consistently confirms the detrimental effects of sexually explicit internet material on young minds, including poor academic performance, increased emotional and behavioral problems, and harmful or even predatory notions about sexuality, primarily among boys.
Virginia’s age-verification law went into effect in July 2023. According to reporting by the Mercury later that year, many online smut purveyors ignored the law while some, including Pornhub, protested it by blacking out their content to all users across the commonwealth. Kids, however, have grown up surrounded by technology, and finding workarounds is child’s play to them. If they don’t borrow mom or dad’s driver’s license to fool verification systems, they can always use virtual private networks to conceal their true internet address and trick age-restricted sites into believing the user is someplace without age-verification laws.
An article published in 2018 by Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking titled “Internet Filtering and Adolescent Exposure to Online Sexual Material” found that even wide use of filtering technology by parents or caregivers yielded inconsistent and insignificant results keeping online sexual content from underage users.
Things are further clouded by a case before the U.S. Supreme Court in which the porn industry challenges age-verification laws on grounds that they constitute a government infringement on First Amendment free speech rights and Fourth Amendment privacy rights by forcing users to provide identifying information. A ruling is expected before the court’s term ends in June. Unknown is whether the decision could apply to social media age-verification efforts.
Trying to outsmart kids in the online realm is an enterprise that requires a Herculean measure of vigilance by today’s parents. That’s horribly unfair to today’s parents (or grandparents, or uncles and aunts, or foster caregivers, or whomever provides a home). They work harder and smarter in tougher times, with fewer safety nets than yesteryear’s parents.
Imperfect as it is, Governor Youngkin should sign this bill — a rare bipartisan concurrence — into law. Should it survive inevitable legal challenges by the social media leviathans like Meta (parent of Facebook and Instagram), China-owned TikTok, and Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter), it at least provides another tool that vigilant parents can add to their workbench if they commit to the hard, yearslong mission of protecting their children by deeply involving themselves in their lives.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.
SUBSCRIBE
Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com.
www.youtube.com – WTVR CBS 6 – 2025-06-14 11:47:32
SUMMARY: A flood watch remains in effect through tonight for much of the area, with potential for torrential downpours, especially north and west of Richmond. Storms today may produce rainfall rates up to 2–3 inches per hour and gusts near 40 mph. Scattered storms are likely mid-to-late afternoon and into the evening. Sunday, Father’s Day, will be muggy with highs near 80 in Richmond, cooler to the north and east. A marginal risk of strong storms exists south of I-64. Rain chances ease midweek as temps rise to the 90s. A front Thursday brings brief relief before heat returns next weekend.
We’re tracking more scattered storms for Saturday. Showers and storms will increase from mid-afternoon into the evening. Due to the muggy air, torrential downpours will occur, and localized flooding is possible. Some spots could pick up multiple inches of rainfall. A few storms could have some gusts in excess of 40 mph.
www.youtube.com – 13News Now – 2025-06-13 19:23:36
SUMMARY: Several area high schools competed in state semifinals across baseball, softball, and soccer. In Class 5 baseball, Cox edged Independence 2-1 with MJ Lemke closing the game, advancing to face Ocean Lakes in an all Beach District final. In softball, Great Bridge fell 1-0 to Mills Godwin despite strong pitching by Bailey Blevin. Gloucester, York, and Western Branch advanced to the finals. In boys’ Class 5 soccer, Hickory lost 2-0 to Lightridge, while Kellam beat Riverside to reach the finals. Northampton Boys and Kellam Girls won, but West Point Boys and Lafayette Girls were eliminated from title contention.
Several area high schools punched their ticket to the championship game that included the Cox Falcons baseball team.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Morgan Sweeney | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-06-13 18:44:00
Washington, D.C., is preparing for a military parade on Flag Day and President Trump’s birthday, costing $25-$45 million. In response, the ‘No Kings’ Day of Defiance movement, backed by over 100 organizations, is organizing protests in more than 2,000 U.S. cities, including dozens near D.C., opposing Trump’s “authoritarian overreach” and defending democracy. While no protests are planned in D.C. itself, heightened security has been enforced, with the parade designated a National Special Security Event. President Trump warned that protests in the capital would face strong force. No Kings emphasizes nonviolence, aiming to de-escalate conflicts. The main event will be held in Philadelphia.
(The Center Square) – As Washington, D.C., gears up for an historic military parade coinciding with Flag Day and President Donald Trump’s birthday, with projected costs between $25 million and $45 million, thecapitalregion is also mobilizing a protest response.
There are dozens of locations in Northern Virginia and Maryland within an hour’s drive of Washington where protesters can gather as part of the official nationwide ‘No Kings’ Day of Defiance.
No Kings is a movement supported by more than 100 partner organizations opposing Trump’s “authoritarian overreach” and gathering in “[defense] of democracy.”
There are over 2,000 cities and towns hosting No Kings events Saturday, where in some cases local or state leaders will speak, and “millions” that have RSVP’d, according to event communications.
Some events in thecapital regionwere at capacity as of Friday evening. One event in Kingstowne, Va., was expecting 250 people, according to an email from an organizer.
The group is not holding a protest in the district itself, however.
“Real power isn’t staged in Washington. It rises up everywhere else,” its website reads. “Instead of allowing this birthday parade to be the center of gravity, we will make action everywhere else the story of America that day.”
However, the district is also in a state of heightened security, as the parade has been designated a National Special Security Event by the Department of Homeland Security. Extra security measures were installed throughout the week leading up to the event and some will be in place through the days immediately following the event, as well. The president also told reporters that any protests in D.C. during the parade would be met with “very big force.”
No Kings says it is committed to nonviolence.
“A core principle behind all No Kings events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values and to act lawfully at these events,” its website says.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
This article presents information on both the planned military parade and the associated protests without adopting an overt ideological stance. It accurately reports the logistical and security aspects of the parade and describes the protest movement’s messaging and scale. While the article references phrases like “authoritarian overreach” and “defense of democracy,” these are clearly attributed to the protest organizers rather than the article itself. The tone remains factual and avoids emotionally charged or opinionated language. The article provides balanced coverage of actions from both the Trump administration and its critics, maintaining journalistic neutrality throughout.
