Social media safety could soon be taught in Florida schools

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Florida students could soon learn how to stay safe on social media in the classroom.

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It’s the aim of a new bill filed ahead of the upcoming legislative session.

Laura McLogan’s 6-year-old daughter, Juliana, hasn’t set up a Facebook or a TikTok account just yet, but the thought of it happening eventually gives McLogan anxiety.

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“As a parent you’re always kind of thinking of the next step, and you know it’s going to happen one of these days, so it does concern me,” said McLogan.

Melanie Brown-Woofter with the Florida Behavioral Health Association said that concern isn’t unfounded.

“Body shaming, bullying, the risk of human trafficking, sex trafficking — ‘cause predators are out there,” said Brown-Woofter.

She said along with the physical threats, there are also risks to adolescents’ mental health.

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“We’re starting to see studies emerge that show a correlation, perhaps not a causation, but a correlation between increased anxiety and depression in teens and social media use,” said Brown-Woofter.

State Sen. Danny Burgess (R-Zephyrhills), who is a parent himself, said seeing those harms inspired him to file new legislation for the upcoming March legislative session.

“The list of concerns is endless,” said Burgess.

The bill in its current form instructs the Florida Department of Education to develop social media safety instructional material and make it available online for parents, but Burgess said his ultimate hope is for the curriculum to be taught in the classroom.

He wants that instruction to cover things like how to stay safe from online predators and avoid harmful content.

He also wants students to understand posts on social media can follow them for the rest of their lives and to teach them how to deal with some of the mental health issues associated with social media use.

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“This is a tool in the tool belt. We’re arming kids with knowledge, parents with knowledge and knowledge is power. And this is how we overcome some of the immense complications and risks and dangers associated with being online,” said Burgess.

Parents like McLogan say they’ll take all the help they can get.

“I think any kind of parameters put in place to limit what they could be exposed to that could be a danger, (I’m) all for it,” said McLogan.

Burgess said he plans to put decisions on the curriculum into the hands of FDOE, which will also decide how best to incorporate the instruction into existing classes.

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The bill still has a long way to go before becoming a reality.