This is an opinion column.

Want to supercharge your child’s mind? Fearful of them being left out of important conversations? Are your family, friends, and neighbors enough of a network for your kids? Over-the-counter Suprament affords consumers the amazing ability to connect to any stream of human consciousness. After a few doses, Suprament users gain access to a treasure trove of knowledge, information, and breaking events through a network of minds around the world. Don’t get left behind!*

As we’ve learned from drug commercials, that asterisk makes all the difference. Your kids might already be overdosing on Suprament. The more recognizable generic name for the drug is social media.

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A 2022 study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health surveyed research on the risks of social media use by children and adolescents. The information is ghastly:

According to recent data, a percentage of 48% of adolescents spent a mean of 5 h per day on social media and 12% spent more than 10 h. Moreover, with that increase in virtual time depression arose.

Social media use is also correlated with conduct and emotional problems, attention deficit, peer problems, school impairments, and psychological distress.

Inadequate sleep quality or quantity associated to social media use represents a risk factor for metabolic conditions such as for diabetes, cardiovascular disease and for mental problem, such as depression or substance abuse.

Those are just some of the lowlights in the compendium of research. Tomes of research point to the devastating consequences of excessive social media use by children around the world.

We need to stop ignoring the problem and protect our children. If parents aren’t up to the challenge because of the shame of their own social media addictions, kids pay the price. Put social media in the same category as other traditional vices like cigarettes, pornography, and alcohol. Fully grown adults legally choosing to engage them isn’t a justification for children to do the same.

As a parent, I understand the temptation of drugging children with electronic devices. They are immediately transformed into sedentary zombies. That’s helpful if you need to get some work done, clean the house, or just take a break from family chaos. Reasonable (meaning less than two hours a day) use of electronic devices isn’t a huge problem. In fact, some of the research for teens suggests that small doses of social media can indeed help with social connectivity and have some positive results.

The potential benefits of the occasional glass of red wine aren’t justification for drinking a bottle every night. Social media is exactly the same. Parents must rein it in before kids suffer years of physical and mental harm.

I’m quite familiar with the glowering looks that come with screen time and app limitations. One of the most challenging aspects of parenting is being the adult in the room. Doing what’s right for the developing children in our homes is rarely popular. Parents are people too. We want to be liked. We want to be as cool as possible for people who have successfully reproduced. Holding the line on social media is difficult.

The stakes are too high to expect parents to protect their children from the social media onslaught without help.

Alabama’s Sen. Katie Britt, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), and Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) have introduced The Protecting Kids on Social Media Act which sets a minimum age of 13 to use social media and requires parental consent for 13-17-year-olds. It also prohibits social media companies from targeting algorithms to users under the age of 18.

States and the federal government have struggled to come up with something other than government issued IDs or credit cards to verify identity and age online. The proposed legislation contains a pilot program for secure digital identification credentials helmed by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. We’re long past the point of needing such credentials, and the bipartisan sponsors of the bill have put forth an excellent starting point.

“I think the reports are shocking, and I don’t think the numbers lie. Last year, one in three high school girls said that they considered suicide,” Britt noted at a recent hearing. “Almost 1 in 10, 9%, of high school students reported actually attempting suicide in the last 12 months.”

The harms of excessive social media use on developing brains aren’t in question. We have researched and identified them. The few benefits for minors are vastly outweighed by the harms.

American Psychological Association Chief Science Officer Mitch Prinstein, PhD, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that during puberty children begin to crave attention and positive engagement from peers. “In contrast, [brain] regions involved in our ability to inhibit our behavior, and resist temptations (i.e., the prefrontal cortex) do not fully develop until early adulthood (i.e., approximately 10–15 years later),” he said. “In other words, when it comes to youths’ cravings for social attention, they are ‘all gas pedal with no brakes.’”

With no brakes, legions of children around the world are set up for a devastating crash. Prinstein noted research that over 50% of teens report at least one symptom of clinical dependency on social media.

We recognize that children shouldn’t have access to cigarettes. The developmental harms of pornography are well documented. We’ve decided that selling alcohol to individuals under 21 isn’t worth the cost to our society. For some reason, we’re afraid to apply a similar standard to social media products our children struggle to engage responsibly.

For now, I’ll deal with my teen’s displeasure that he doesn’t have access to Facebook, Twitter, SnapChat, or other social media. He’s more important to me than my own popularity at home. Parents need all the help they can get. The Protecting Kids on Social Media Act is a good start.

*Side effects are anxiety, depression, lack of sleep, poor self-image, obesity, harmful sexual habits, dental problems, headaches, visual impairments, reduced physical activity, body dysmorphic disorder, and stunted emotional development. Numerous studies have also shown that Suprament is highly addictive for individuals under the age of 25.

Smith is a recovering political attorney with three boys, two dogs, a bearded dragon, and an extremely patient wife. He’s a partner in Triptych Media, a business strategy wonk, and a regular on talk radio. Please direct outrage or agreement to [email protected] or @DCameronSmith on Twitter.