Governor Youngkin issues executive order establishing childhood task force to combat social media addiction

Governor Glenn Youngkin has directed several executive agencies to develop materials for parents to reduce the impact that cell phone usage and social media has on children in Virginia.

“I am establishing the Reclaiming Childhood Task Force to sustain ongoing collaboration of these efforts to improve youth mental health outcomes by combatting the dangers of addictive social media and creating opportunities for cultural change,” reads the introduction to Executive Order 43. 

The order cites survey data from the Centers for Disease Control that showed that 40 percent of American high school students reported persistent sadness or hopelessness.

Youngkin also refers to research from former University of Virginia social psychologist Jonathan Haidt that claims a link between cell phone usage and rates of anxiety and depression. 

“What is also clear is that many social media technology companies benefit from their monetization of data collected by social media youth,” the order continues.  “In 2019, Google and YouTube were fined $170 million for allegedly collecting personal information from children without their parents’ consent in violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.”

The order calls for coordination between the Secretary of Education, Secretary of Health and Human Resources, the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the State Health Commissioner, and the Commissioner of the Department of Behavioural Health and Developmental Services to work on several information campaigns for parents and other stakeholders.

One of them is to create a social media and mental health toolkit and another is to launch a public health initiative to recommend non-screen alternatives. 

Earlier this year, Youngkin issued Executive Order 33 which ordered public schools in Virginia to adopt policies banning cell phone usage during the school day. 

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