The regular session of the Indiana General Assembly is currently underway, and Indiana lawmakers are debating many issues that will impact Hoosiers if they are passed into laws.
The Indiana General Assembly is an annual gathering of the state’s legislature to pass bills into laws. It will conclude in March 2026.
Some of these bills caught our staff’s interest. Two topics at the top of the list were regarding cell phones in schools and teens and social media use. There are bills currently working their way through the legislature that would remove cell phones completely from schools, no exceptions, and add age restrictions to the use of social media.
Most people these days are on some form of social media, including most of the PHS Media Department. In total, 71.4% of staff members claimed to use social media all the time, while 19.5% of staff members sometimes or occasionally utilize it. Only 9.1% rarely use social media, and 0% never use social media.
When it comes to cell phones and the use of social media, everyone has an opinion, including our staff.
When asked how important it is to restrict how old a person can be in order to use social media, 35.1% of our staff said it was of 4 out of 5 importance. Another 20.8% rated a 5 out of 5.
On average, the age majority of our staff deems suitable is between the ages of 12 and 16. The youngest age was 10, and the oldest was 18.
The most common reasoning for requiring an age limit was typically concerning mental health. Our staff believes it’s important to know how to properly use social media in healthy ways so it does not negatively impact mental health.
Social media is not the only thing that is talked about being restricted. Cell phones have already been banned from being used in classes in Indiana, but some bills are asking to make the rules stricter.
Our staff as a whole is not fond of this idea and does not think cell phones are a huge problem at PHS. On the issue, 31.2% of our staff said, on a scale of 1 to 5, that cell phones as a problem were a 1 out of 5; 35.1% of staff members rated it a 2 out of 5. Only 1.3% believe that it is a 5.
Overall, our staff believes that age restrictions on social media are a positive thing that can help keep teens and kids from developing bad habits at a young age. Some forms of social media are also not appropriate for all ages, and age restrictions would help keep children from content they should not be exposed to.
