The Missouri Republican’s proposal tracks with Christine Rosen’s argument in our June 27, 2022, cover story. She wrote:
Raising the age limit for social-media use to 16 (or 18) would seem draconian to a generation of adolescents already habituated to spending hours on Discord and Snapchat. But as we embrace new technologies, we need to assess their benefits and harms honestly, and not continue to act as if everyone will use them the way they were ideally intended to be used. When automobiles became more common in the 1920s, states began setting age limits and licensing requirements for their operation (after witnessing the damage that could be caused by someone untrained behind the wheel). By the mid 20th century, most states had adopted 16 as the minimum age, with license requirements that varied by state.