The state of Michigan settled a lawsuit against Meta. The company will have to set up guardrails for minors using Facebook and Instagram as part of the settlement.
Lori Roddy is the Executive Director at Neutral Zone in Ann Arbor. She says the social media reforms regarding Meta are a good first step toward helping young people safely navigate communities and explore their identities. She says these protections don’t necessarily solve issues, like social media addiction and isolation.
She adds social media has become a substitute for third space for many adolescents.
“We should be putting money and resources to support ways, healthy alternatives, the things that young people are not going to be picking up their phone, but they're going to be drawn to do, things that are human-centered, that are people-centered, community-centered.”
Roddy says finding alternatives for youth to connect and collaborate is a way to curb dependency and issues that arise from social media.
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