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State lawmakers will weigh in on a possible social media ban for minors next session.
A bill filed by Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, would prohibit minors from creating accounts on social media sites and also require age verification. The bill is one of a few suggestions made by lawmakers to address some of the dangers online that could have an effect on Texas children.
Other options include adding funds to internet crimes units in law enforcement agencies, banning the use of people’s likeness in artificially created pornographic images, and making people aware of the dangers of the internet.
Jean Burk, author and president of College Prep Genius, agrees with putting a ban on minors having social media accounts and said educating kids on cell phone use and the things of social media should start at home with the parents.
"If the parents are allowing it then the kids are going to certainly do it," Burk said. "I think there needs to be education for parents because these cell phones are coming with no warnings, they're given to kids younger and younger without boundaries or any monitoring."
Burk said a cell phone in the hands of a kid too young to have one often leads to problems in their brain. Kids using social media can become addicted to hits of dopamine that they get from likes or comments they receive on their social media accounts.
"A dopamine stimulation hit through excessive gaming and social media leads to addiction in many cases and also has the same effects as a drug addiction," she said.
That type of addiction can shrink a young person's frontal cortex in their brain, which doesn't fully develop until they are 25. Even some top CEO's of tech companies have said they wouldn't allow their kids to have social media accounts or even a cell phone at a young age out of an abundance of caution for what it could do to their brains.
Burk suggests at least keeping cell phones out of schools to make sure kids are focused on their learning and not allowing their brain to seek for more dopamine hits.
"I'm a big believer in banning cell phones from kids at school because it's nothing but trouble for the teachers and the administration," Burk said.
Texas school districts are also trying to control the spread of cyberbullying, pornographic images and online exploitation with their students. Districts already require parental consent for most of the software and social media applications that are used in the classroom. Social media companies have previously challenged attempts by lawmakers to prevent sites from collecting data on minors.