The Australian Government just passed a law raising the minimum age for social media accounts from 13 to 16 - but the United States has no such law - which is critical for protecting children.  

We need a law similar to this in the United States to further protect our children, and adding your support to this petition will help us to create important change.  I will be speaking with legislators about this issue starting in Colorado and working on policy change surrounding social media and safety for youth nationwide.

Social media has been harmful for me for so long.  I didn't have a Facebook until I was in high school (it was still new back then, and we still had MySpace).  At that time, I went through horrible online bullying and developed an eating disorder after connecting with girls on social media who were also struggling - but spreading toxic information they had seen on social media about being thinner, how to lose weight, and had been engaged in sites that are known as "pro-ana" sites dedicated to glorifying anorexia.  

As a youth, my mental health was already suffering in school.  But the added component of online bullying and harassment, comparison to my peers, and increased anxiety surrounding all of the above, were detrimental.  I am also part of the LGBTQ+ community, and social media added another toxic layer to the already hateful language and actions I was experiencing and saw some of my peers going through.

As an adult I went into the mental health profession to help those like me who live with mental illnesses and have gone through a vast amount of trauma - a lot of which was connected to social media when I was a teen. 

But what we need to realize now, is that social media has gotten worse due to politics, increased anger and hostility that has led to adults being bullied as well, and increased access to violent imagery and information that is deeply impacting the mental health of our youth.  Especially marginalized children, including those who are Hispanic or part of the LGBTQ+ community.