Indiana Takes Aim at Youth Use of Phones and Platforms, Now Families and Communities Also Need to Follow Through

by Tami Silverman, President & CEO of Indiana Youth Institute

In the most recent legislative session, Indiana lawmakers demonstrated a desire to take meaningful steps to address concerns about youth safety and well-being in online spaces. The proposals debated focused on strengthening parental involvement, improving age verification, and limiting features on social media platforms that can be especially addictive or manipulative.

These discussions were shaped by consistent input from parents, educators, and youth advocates, as well as alarm raised by online exploitation cases. Although the resulting actions do not yet offer a full or definitive solution, they signal the beginning of a broader statewide effort to better protect children in the digital world.

This increased attention reflects a national movement to understand how digital technologies influence children’s lives. Families, researchers, and policymakers across the country are confronting these critical questions surrounding how to balance the opportunities digital tools provide with the risks they pose.

The Latest Research

Social media use by our youth is high and teen ambivalence is growing. A 2025 Pew Research Center study found that 45% of U.S. teens believe they spend too much time on social media, compared with 36% in 2022. Even as many teens continue turning to these platforms to maintain friendships and express creativity, nearly half (48%) say social media has a mostly negative effect on people their age.

Clinical researchers note that social media can serve as both a helpful connection point and a source of heightened anxiety, comparison, and cyberbullying. Data show that while a significant number of both teen boys and girls experience negative effects, a higher share of girls reports such problems. 25% of girls say social media harms their mental health, compared with 14% of boys. Girls also report greater impacts on confidence, and the difference in sleep disruption is particularly striking, with 50% of girls reporting sleep problems related to social media use compared with 40% of boys.

Even with these concerns, many young people describe positive experiences online. 74% of teens say social media helps them feel more connected to their friends, and 63% say it offers a meaningful creative outlet.

Policy and platform reforms are racing to catch up. A 2025 review from the Journal of Medical Internet Research urges policymakers to adopt safety defaults that protect young users, limit algorithmic recommendations that pull minors toward inappropriate or harmful content, and require greater transparency from platforms about their content promotion. Research such as that being conducted by the Yale School of Medicine to examine how different types of online engagement affect attention, emotional regulation, anxiety, and ADHD symptoms may help families, educators, as well as policymakers move beyond general limits on screen time and toward strategies that directly support mental health and development.

What This Means for Indiana Kids

Indiana’s evolving efforts represent the early stages of their development of a long-term approach to strengthening protections for children online. Lawmakers have voiced interest in empowering parents, ensuring that platforms reliably verify ages, and reducing exposure to high-risk design features that can encourage compulsive use. Their work gained urgency amid increased awareness of online exploitation cases involving Hoosier youth. While these steps do not resolve every challenge, they send a clear signal that online risks demand both attention and action.

Given what we know, the next move is ours. We can, and should, take practical steps that meet the moment to protect how young people use social media, while also monitoring against overreaction. Indiana’s early efforts signal intent, yet the daily work of shaping healthier digital habits will happen where kids actually live and learn: in policy, in schools and youth programs, and around the kitchen table.

Here is what that looks like in practice.

Families play the most immediate role in shaping healthy digital habits at home. They can act by:

• Using parental controls and device settings proactively to shape healthier online experiences.
• Protecting sleep by keeping phones outside bedrooms overnight and establishing household charging locations.
• Co-viewing and coaching by reviewing social media feeds, privacy settings and content with your teen, encouraging conversations about what online experiences feel healthy and what feels harmful.

Schools and youth programs can build daily structures that support healthier tech use.

• Adopting consistent phone-free routines that reduce distractions and support engagement.
• Teaching digital health skills including sleep habits, emotional awareness, cyberbullying prevention, and healthy content curation.
• Providing offline alternatives such as clubs, recreation, and service learning that promote belonging and connection.

A strong network of caring adults can also make a significant difference in how young people navigate social media and all the other challenges that come with growing up. Indiana Youth Institute’s FIVE by 50 initiative reinforces this idea by encouraging every child to have at least five supportive adults in their lives. When kids have multiple trusted adults to turn to, they gain perspective, guidance, and a safety net that helps them process what they see online, build healthier digital habits and feel anchored in real world relationships. FIVE by 50 is one more way communities can strengthen the support systems young people need to thrive, both on and off their screens.

Indiana’s recent actions show the beginning of a statewide commitment to improving online safety for young people. Although the steps taken are not complete, they acknowledge that children need stronger protections and healthier digital environments. National research shows that social media is neither entirely harmful nor entirely beneficial. Real and lasting progress will come when state policy, schools, youth-serving organizations, and families work together to create balanced, supportive digital experiences for Indiana’s children.

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