Social Media Age Minimums: Bad For Kids, Parents, And Governments

BusinessPolicySocial Media Age Minimums: Bad For Kids, Parents, And GovernmentsByJohn Tamny,Contributor.Follow AuthorMay 08, 2026, 10:00am EDTSAN ANSELMO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 04: In this photo illustration, the Facebook and Instagram apps are seen on the screen of an iPhone on October 04, 2021 in San Anselmo, California. Social media applications Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp are experiencing a global outage that started before 9 a.m. (P.S.T.) on Monday morning. (Photo Illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)Getty ImagesThere’s no “pause button” that can be pressed for parenting. Which is arguably why parenting is so fulfilling: the exhaustion it fosters is inversely proportional to the joy. This is worth remembering as legislation on the state and national level rears its unfortunate head in the United States. As you’re reading this Sen. Ted Cruz (R – TX) is joining hands with Hawaiian Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) to pass the Kids Off of Social Media Act (KOSA). The law prohibits social media companies from permitting anyone under the age of 13 to create an account on their sites. Coming from Schatz, the legislation isn’t surprising. From Cruz, it’s man bites dog. Time was Republicans put family and parenting on a pedestal. Implied in KOSA is that government can substitute itself for parents. Which means KOSA is a legislative version of government spending whereby the federal government, cheered on by an allegedly limited government U.S. Senator in Cruz, arrogates to itself parenting prerogative on the matter of social media usage. Which is the problem. Young people don’t just require endlessly attentive parental oversight because they’re young, but also because it’s through constant attentiveness that parents convey to their children two crucial messages: first, that they’re very much cared for. Second, the values that parents hold dear. One guesses that Cruz would agree, which raises more questions about why he’s supporting legislation that puts a wedge b...