By Hunter Reed
A high school student scrolls through social media as doubts and worries consume everyday life.
He finds a video that really speaks to the moment, and this kid now feels renewed and ready to share the news he just saw with his peers.
It is during these times that sophomore Max Calhoun most enjoys social media watching Christian evangelist Cliff Knetchle.
“I think social media can help spread the most important thing in life, and that’s the gospel, to the younger generation,” Calhoun said.
However, these moments could become restricted under language that was added to Senate Bill 199 that would require written parental consent for children under the age of 17.
Similar language was removed from the bill on the Senate side after Sen. Jeff Raatz (R-District 27) realized there were not enough votes to pass the bill.
However, on Wednesday, Feb. 11, the House Education Committee voted to add the language back into the bill with a few changes. And on Monday, Feb. 16, the minimum age was raised on the House floor from 15 to 17 for parental consent.
Here in Indiana, the issue of how to handle social media restrictions on teens has become a hot topic in the aftermath of the death of a Fishers teenager. Hailey Buzbee, age 17, died last month after allegedly being lured by an online predator in Ohio after using an online gaming platform.
The language was added back into Senate Bill 199 after hours of emotional public testimony from the parents of Buzbee and numerous other parents, as well as testimony from state mental health and law enforcement officers on Feb. 9 in support of the bill.
Furthermore, the topic of social media regulation for teens has been a part of an ongoing debate not just in Indiana but around the world.
In December 2025, the country of Australia enacted a new law that bans many social media platforms for children under the age of 16.
All of this is coming at a time when countries like Spain and Greece are weighing the possibility of implementing their own social media bans.
Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston told reporters in a press conference on Feb. 9 that “this is a different world, and one that we’re all adapting to. I think we’re in a world where this is always going to be looked at every session.”
Some, such as sophomore Finley Magga, believe that Indiana should stick with what Australia has done.
“I think 16 is a good age,” Magga said. “And I also think that even though social media takes up and lowers attention spans, I think it’s important that we have it and we can learn to regulate it and use it properly at a young age.”
However, for others, the Indiana social media bill is a cause for concern. For instance, Calhoun believes that the bill would lead to him being less informed about important news.
He lists several examples, including his use of Instagram to find important information about the Delta FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) club, as well as news from Delta athletics.
Some might question why one couldn’t just use Student Square, text messages, or phone calls; however, Calhoun’s answer to that point is that many of his friends don’t really check their texts or phone calls, and he only recently got Student Square.
For others like PE/Health teacher Jacob VanPelt, the proposed language is needed.
“Let’s be honest, (do) you really need social media at 12,13 years old?” VanPelt said.
He also believes that with the advent of social media, it has led to a wider spread of misinformation due to kids being more likely to get their news on social media.
At the center of the social media regulation debate has been concerns over individual privacy, specifically regarding the age verification requirements.
Delta business and computing teacher Andy Lewman believes that such language could drastically impact the business environment.
“What it could do is it could prevent data for the people that are under 18 from having their data shared and things of that sort,” Lewman said. “But yet, I would imagine that when they craft something where they’re giving parent consent for a student to have an account, that they would find a way to be able to still utilize that data to be able to share it with different places, whether it be marketing or other things, because, ultimately, a lot of different businesses feel like that.”
Another concern of Senate Bill 199 is how it would affect businesses.
Junior Malia Schwartz uses social media for influencing as well as to promote businesses.
She believes that while there are many big brands in Indianapolis, the effects of the legislation in Indiana would not be as significant as they would be in other areas of the country.
The age limits on social media have also been a major topic of conversation, with many believing that Indiana should lower the age limit. However, Delta communications teacher Tim Cleland believes that the age restrictions are good even before the changes made to the house legislation.
“I think that for kids,(that are) under 18, you’re still living at your parents’ home, and you’re still following your parents’ rules,” Cleland said.
For others, however, the age requirements are too high before changes were made to the language.
“I feel like there’s good and bad, but I feel like 18 is too high in age,” Calhoun said. “I feel like you shouldn’t have to be an adult to be on social media.”
Another major concern of social media is access to more information. Delta geography and world history teacher Mark Detweiler echoes that sentiment.
“You’re so much more in tune with world events,” Detweiler said. “You guys see so much more of that. But at the same time, it’s also hard, I think, for myself, even at my age, to discern what’s real and what’s not real, what’s factual, and what is made up.”
With the advent of social media one might question the potential impact of the new technology on the classroom and education as a whole.
“So I just know from a teaching standpoint that it is harder and harder to maintain people’s attention, to have people genuinely find stuff interesting and be captivated by it in the classroom because I cannot perform the way that social media performs, both visually and the quickness of it,” Cleland said. “Most teachers cannot perform that way, and so education in the classroom requires longer periods of focus and concentration and reading and thinking … whereas these short videos are designed to entertain and capture you and keep you scrolling to the next one for a quick hit.”
For VanPelt he concurs with the belief that social media has led to lower attention spans for kids.
So only time will tell as to what regulations will be adopted on social media for young teens.
