Fla. Social Media Education Bill Gets Bipartisan Likes

A Florida bill requiring social media literacy training in public schools cleared the Senate Education Committee in a bipartisan 11-0 vote Tuesday. The state should educate kids on “the addictive nature of social media,” said SB-52 sponsor Sen. Daniel Burgess (R) at the livestreamed meeting. A substitute amendment adopted Tuesday refines the bill to ensure kids’ social media use is focused on career development and sharing information with families and friends, said Burgess: It won’t prevent class-specific uses of social media, such as a career-building class that teaches how to use LinkedIn. Co-sponsor Sen. Rosalind Osgood (D) said the bill is much needed. When she was on a school board, Osgood saw “all the trauma that young people endure because of social media,” she said. "We can't just leave our children alone with their phones.” She later added, “We have to train [children] just like before we give them a car. ... We missed that step with social media.” Sen. Erin Grall (R) said the final bill should ensure social media curriculum keeps up to date and that only age-appropriate content is shared to kids of different ages “so we're not introducing traumatic topics prematurely.” Saying he remains open to suggestions, Burgess agreed reviews should be mandatory to keep educational content current. The bill will help students make “correct use of social media,” and understand its downsides, said Sen. Shev Jones (D), noting he would like to co-sponsor the measure.