HARRISBURG \u2014 Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said he visited high school classrooms during the 2025-2026 school year to learn about social media use by teens and found recurring themes. The idea is that most students access social media every day, and they know it’s harmful to them.<\/p>\n
In response to these comments, Sunday compiled a report calling on social media companies, lawmakers, school administrators, parents and teens to monitor social media use and create more content guidelines to protect students’ mental health.<\/p>\n
“This is in no way an indictment on social media,” Sunday said at a report release event at Parliament House on Wednesday. “This report is our best effort to express what our students have told us. This is a learning initiative for us, which is very important.”<\/p>\n
What Sunday found in Pennsylvania schools mirrors national trends, with 95% of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 reporting using at least one social media platform, and nearly half saying they are online “almost all the time,” according to the 2024 Pew Research Center.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, three roundtable discussions were held during the school year, bringing together 160 students, staff and administrators from 35 schools across three intermediate units and five counties. Lancaster County schools were not involved in the discussion, but several Berks County schools did, and two Berks Catholic High School students spoke Wednesday.<\/p>\n
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The use of social media and cell phones, especially in school settings, is a growing concern among educators and lawmakers. A bell-to-bell cell phone ban, which would limit students’ use of cell phones in class, was approved by the state Senate in February and is awaiting a vote in the House.<\/p>\n
Sunday’s report features high school students’ opinions on the addictive nature of social media platforms such as TikTok and YouTube. Social media platforms are a primary means of communication and connection for teens, but they are correlated with increases in self-harm and negative self-image.<\/p>\n
Student reactions to the potential ban on cell phone use included some believing that schools could control phone use without a ban, while others noted that a ban for all students could reduce social pressure to stay connected.<\/p>\n
The report also highlights new online risks from artificial intelligence, including AI chatbots like Character.ai designed for friendship, support, and even romance. Sunday said his office is actively learning about the technology while also requiring product vendors to implement additional protections for users.<\/p>\n
In December, Sunday and the attorneys general of New Jersey, West Virginia and Massachusetts led a bipartisan coalition of 42 state attorneys general in writing to AI companies “demanding that they take steps to ensure their chatbots do not produce harmful output.”<\/p>\n
The \u201cdarkness\u201d of social media<\/h3>\n
“The dark side of social media is not a state secret,” Sunday said. “The Attorney General’s Office is committed to investigating that darkness and the harm it causes to Pennsylvanians.”<\/p>\n
Rosalie Perlman, a senior at Berks Catholic High School, praised Sunday’s “teenTalk” discussion for giving students an opportunity to collaborate and share their challenges on social media.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was really helpful to hear a lot of my own thoughts expressed and be able to explain them to people in positions of power, because I want to be active in my community when it comes to mental health advocacy,\u201d Perlman said.<\/p>\n
Children who spend more than three hours a day on social media are twice as likely to experience symptoms of anxiety and depression, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ 2023 Surgeon General Recommendations cited in Sunday’s report.<\/p>\n
“Toxic communities can create toxic language,” Perlman said. “People are braver behind screens, so I think it’s important to recognize the dangers of screens as much as they are tools.”<\/p>\n
Gabby Frey, also a third-year student at Berks Catholic, said she recognized a recurring theme in this year’s lecture. The idea is that social media can and should be used more to positively impact students’ lives.<\/p>\n
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Report recommendations<\/h3>\n
The students in Sunday’s report also highlighted the addictive nature of social media, noting that it creates “constant pressure to evaluate and compare oneself to others,” which can lead to self-scrutiny and, in some cases, low self-esteem.<\/p>\n
In the report, Sunday encourages teens to prioritize in-person connections and set boundaries around screen time in order to engage in less frequent and healthier interactions with social media.<\/p>\n
“We’re not telling students to delete their social media apps,” Sunday said. “We suggest you consider being selective about what you see on your devices, setting limits on the time you spend online, and adhering to those limits by disabling and blocking harmful spam content.”<\/p>\n
The report instructs parents to limit screen time, use parental controls, and maintain open and ongoing communication about their children’s online experiences. “I can’t say anything if I feel like there’s going to be trouble,” said one student, who was quoted anonymously in the report.<\/p>\n
Recommendations for school leaders include introducing digital safety education to pre-secondary students. Promote the Attorney General’s anonymous reporting initiative, “Safe2Say Something,” and train educators to recognize and respond to signs of mental health concerns.<\/p>\n
Sarah George, deputy director of the Office of Early Childhood and Student Services for Berks County Intermediate Unit 14, called on school leaders to support student organizations in creating a space for the community and students to voice their concerns.<\/p>\n
“Make sure students feel heard and that they have a space to speak openly about their mental health concerns and the challenges they are experiencing,” Professor George said. \u201cThey can really help make a difference, but also make a difference in your building, your community, your school district.\u201d<\/p>\n
The report calls on social media companies to step up content moderation to detect and remove inappropriate content, introduce stronger age verification systems and prominently promote mental health resources.<\/p>\n
If they don’t, Sunday said, lawmakers will.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me be clear: If social media companies fail to protect their users, especially children, from the negative effects of their platforms, I will use every means necessary to hold them accountable and force them to make the necessary changes,\u201d Sunday said.<\/p>\n
Sunday recommends that government leaders consider legislation to address harmful or abusive online behavior, as well as include in the directive creating and enforcing stronger regulation of social media companies.<\/p>\n
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Harmful online behavior<\/h3>\n
Students are increasingly using AI tools for academic and personal purposes, such as as a resource to discuss emotional or mental health concerns. AI has also been misused to create deceptive images and, in worst cases, child sexual abuse material.<\/p>\n
“This is a big problem,” Sunday said. \u201cThat risk is now much higher because we live in a world where people are using technology to incapacitate other individuals, and the harm is permanent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lancaster Country Day, a private school in Lancaster County, was at the center of a 2024 criminal investigation into two students who used AI to alter the images of 59 female students and one adult, replacing their faces with naked bodies that were not their own but appeared to be.<\/p>\n
Both students were found guilty of creating AI images and sentenced to probation.<\/p>\n
In 2024, state law made it illegal to disseminate sexually explicit images of children under 18. Sunday expressed support for a bill that would require reporters, including educators, to report to Child Protective Services if a child disseminates artificially generated sexual content of another child.<\/p>\n
The bill passed unanimously in the state House of Representatives earlier this month and awaits a vote in the Senate. Sunday said his office has already prosecuted several serious cases of AI-generated sexual abuse as felonies.<\/p>\n
\u201cDealing with the new technologies we face is the challenge of our time,\u201d Sunday said. “Advances in technology and public safety are incompatible.”<\/p>\n
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