Twin Cities nonprofit wants help from teens to create social media warning labels
BLOOMINGTON, Minn — More than half of teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 use popular social media sites like TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat, according to the Pew Research Center.
While social media allows teenagers to connect, safety advocates say it also presents harmful content.
Logging on to social media can bring teens to one of the most dangerous places in their lives, and it's more than just cyberbullying, said Erich Mische, CEO of SAVE, a Bloomington-based nonprofit that for 36 years has been dedicated to suicide prevention.
"We are seeing kids being sextorted, we are seeing kids being sex trafficked, we are seeing kids being sold illegal drugs," said Mische.
His organization is helping to launch a global campaign for young people and others to submit ideas for social media warning labels.
The goal is to educate younger users about the harmful content Mische said users see every minute.
"We look at this as an opportunity to leverage a message and a call to action, to tell parents and kids that look, we're not trying to stop you from using social media platforms, but what we want to make sure is when you enter that virtual world, you are aware of those dangers that are there," said Mische.
People will be able to submit their ideas of what social media labels could look like and say. Three winners will receive scholarships of up to $5,000.
"I think it's a great idea," said Rep. Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids.
In his experience, Stephenson said combating tobacco use among kids was most successful when kids were talking to other kids.
Stephenson said he will be introducing a bill this session to put warning labels on social media. He said he anticipates a multi-year fight to increase online safety.
"Those big tech companies, they have unlimited resources and are making an unbelievable amount of money off of these social media platforms, so they're not going to just let us lay down and put guard rails on," said Stephenson.
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