I am a freshman in high school, and I am very interested in the topic at hand. Like many others my age, I use social media on a daily basis. This affects nearly everyone I know.

Social media is a tool, and any tool should be used correctly. Most of us agree that nobody should spend five hours a day on social media. But just because you shouldn’t do something doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have the right to. I should be allowed, in my own time, on my own device, in my own home, to spend more than an hour on social media. Scrolling TikTok for two hours on a day that I feel too tired to do anything is okay.

One hour a day means I don’t get to experience what I usually do. I don’t spend all my time on social media scrolling. I connect with like-minded people, including my already established friends and some new friends I can make online. Social media is truly a tool for interaction; it has “social” in the name. These platforms have the ability to make people into introverted and antisocial kids, but I really don’t see that in the kids around me. They use social media, and they are all normal.

Out of the 95 percent of teenagers who have phones, 45 percent are online on a constant basis (according to Pew Research Center). I really don’t think that 45 percent of teenagers are antisocial or weird. They are merely interacting with friends and expressing themselves online.

Blanket bans don’t fix anything. We should educate teens and parents on what good screen time and phone usage look like. But in the end, it should be up to the parents of the children to decide what appropriate screen time looks like, not the Virginia Congress.

Please join me in urging the Virginia legislators to repeal § 59.1‑577.1 and replace it with policies that consider the nuanced role that social media plays in education and social development. Sign this petition to help us advocate for more informed, balanced solutions.