By contributing writer Lucia Brown (’28)

With the recent controversy about Tik Tok, more attention has been paid to social media and the effects it has on its users. 

Studies have been conducted on teens and the effects social media has on them. Pew Research Center conducted a survey among teens in 2022, and the data they collected is exactly what they predicted: “more than half of teens say it would be difficult for them to give up social media.” It also said that restrictions are a good idea, because it would eliminate the time suck aspect of social media. But who should be in charge of restrictions?

Many would say parents. However, most students at Jamesville-DeWitt High School can confidently say that they don’t like parental restrictions. Whether it’s because they think it’s overparenting, or it’s because they don’t want to be limited, there was a common theme of not liking the restrictions. “My parents didn’t put any restrictions on my social media,” said freshman Annalise Gentile. “I’m glad because I don’t need them to treat me like a child, you know?”

Most students, when asked, used several different social media platforms. Freshman Alyssa Stafford said, “I have Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest. I got them when I was around 12 or so. I don’t have any restrictions on them.” Students in J-DHS frequently said that they have multiple different social media apps. “TikTok is my favorite,” said sophomore Ailyn Gratien. Gratien also said “I don’t have any restrictions on any of my apps and I never have.” Freshman Moriyah Campbell also said she doesn’t have any restrictions. When asked how they feel about not having restrictions, they both said they were glad they didn’t have any. 

From an admin standpoint, social media is one of the worst things that has happened to teens. Will Hartley, a student counselor, said, “I would say, most people have social media. And I don’t think it’s doing anyone any favors.” Hartley also claims, “I don’t see any positives to social media and the usage teens perform.” Melissa Moore, a health teacher, said “Generally, I hate social media. I feel like I could be doing something much better with my time instead of spending it on the algorithm.” She also said that she agrees that there should be more restrictions but even so “students will still get sucked in.”

Ultimately, social media usage is a hotly contested topic, with everyone having different views on how much it should be used and what ages should be allowed to use it. It is up to the student and the adults in their life to decide what that looks like for them.