by Rilynn Fluitt

Meta, a company that owns Instagram, Whatsapp, and Facebook, entered a settlement with 48 US States to limit teen access to their social media. Meta said this will include a two-hour limit, restriction on excessive beauty filters, muted notifications during school hours, and eliminates visibility of likes.

Social media has been known to have a negative impact on teenagers’ mental health. Teens are at risk of depression, cyberbullying, privacy concerns, and more.                                

Not everyone thinks limits are the answer. “I don’t know if forcing teens to have a limit on it is a great idea for everyone,” A Bellbrook High School (BHS) sophomore said. 

The restrictions can be audited by the parents. Parents can choose to get rid of the two hour time limit; however, they cannot get rid of the restrictions during school hours and at night.

“I think people could complain about them for a bit but everything you can get from Instagram is available on other apps,” the BHS sophomore said, “So they’ll find a way to work around it.” 

Parents tend to believe that the limits don’t go far enough. Most believe that the settlement is being used as Meta’s scapegoat of responsibility. “I think the trend of speeding up videos and things like that is making all of society’s attention span suffer,” the mother of the student said. 

“I’m for it,” the mother said. “I think it’s obvious they wouldn’t have done it if it hadn’t been forced and they’ve been aware of detrimental effects for a lot longer than they will admit.”