WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. — Students from Williamsville East High School got an opportunity to sit down and talk to New York Governor Kathy Hochul about youth mental health and the impact social media has on teens.
“I've heard from young people across our state about mental health challenges and the harmful impacts of social media,” Governor Hochul said. “Inaction is not an option – we need to act now to combat addictive social media feeds and protect our kids online.”
Gov. Hochul is hoping to advance two pieces of legislation by June. One is called the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act which would restrict the addictive features of social media. The other proposed legislation is called the New York Child Data Protection Act and that bill would restrict the collection of minors’ personal data by online sites.
“I want to thank Gov. Hochul for meeting with students to discuss mental health and social media. I am extremely proud and want to commend our students for being agents of change to not only provide a better future for themselves, but their classmates, and community. The more our students are able to be part of the discussion and advocate, the better," said Williamsville Central School District Superintendent of Schools Dr. Darren J. Brown-Hall said.
Williamsville East High School Senior Aniyah Ramadan said, “I want to thank Gov. Hochul for meeting with students today. I think it’s great that she has prioritized meeting with our generation to learn more about what’s going on with teenagers today, mental health, and social media issues.”
Last year, Governor Hochul hosted a Summit on Youth Mental Health. Following the summit, the state released a Youth Mental Health Listening Tour Report
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