Mohonasen sophomore pushes for youth social media protections

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The New York State legislature passed the first-of-its-kind legislation aimed at limiting the reach social media companies have on young users. Both bills are now on their way to the governor's desk to be signed.

One aims to protect children online by banning companies from collecting personal data. The other limits addictive features meant to keep teens on the platforms longer and blocks sites from sending notifications late at night.

In a world full of addictive algorithms and endless scrolling, you could say Mekka Vasquez may be the anomaly. "Like, the conversation at lunch, everyone is on their phone. You don't get that eye-to-eye contact. It's really sad, honestly," said Vasquez.

The 16-year-old Mohonasen High School sophomore waited as long as possible to join the conversation online. She created a Snapchat account only after she turned 15.

"I did feel like I needed to be on there because everyone else was. There was a lot of peer pressure to get on it," she explained.

She limits her social media presence to just Snapchat, opting not to join TikTok, Instagram or Facebook. Vasquez is well aware of the detrimental impacts of all of the platforms for a generation constantly plugged in.

"It's a lot of, 'oh, her life is so much better, or he's on vacation.' I'm not doing any of that. It does feel a little disheartening. You just gotta realize that's two seconds of their life that they sent a picture of," she said.

It's that candid honesty that got the governor's attention. Vasquez recently delivered remarks on youth mental health before a big vote to help the state push for more online protections for teens through two bills moving through the legislature. Both bills were passed by the end of session.

"We should honestly have been doing this sooner," Vasquez added. "I feel like social media, now all of a sudden, people are like, 'Hey, we can't be giving our kids this because it's addictive.'"

Her father, Raymond said, "The algorithms need to be monitored and controlled so that we are not throwing something that Mekka stared at for five seconds in her face every five seconds."

Her approach to social media is a direct result of the boundaries her parents have helped nurture. They use the screen time feature on the iPhone to monitor activity, block social media apps at certain times, and create downtime to help Mekka stay off the screen and engaged in the world around her.

"Honestly, I could not thank them enough for that," she said. "Even though I may not like it sometimes, I think it's really important."

The governor is expected to sign the bill into law. Legal experts say it could face challenges down the road as it faces push back from the tech company.