There is no greater influence on our future than our educational institutions. They preserve and transfer our hard-won knowledge, teach about our past mistakes, and prepare the next generation to elevate us to greater heights. It is one of society's most serious endeavors.
So, why are our schools feeding into a system which has been documented to be extremely detrimental to students' minds?
The evidence is not ambiguous. The 2023 Surgeon General's Social Media and Mental Health report included these two facts, next to each other:
"Children and adolescents who spend more than 3 hours a day on social media face double the risk of mental health problems including experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety. This is concerning as a recent survey showed that teenagers spend an average of 3.5 hours a day on social media."
A 2025 Pediatrics Open study on children with ADHD found that using social media worsens attention spans. The Journal of the American Medical Association published a 2025 study showing that increased social media use in early teens was significantly associated with lower performance on reading and memory tests.
If our universities receive millions in grants for researching mental health, attention issues, and literacy problems in our kids, shouldn't they also take some initiative if they are contributing to these issues?
I would like for school leaders to think of their official Instagram account as an implicit endorsement of Meta. A company who chose to suppress internal research showing that users who stopped using their platforms showed improvements in mental health. Administrations should think about how their official TikTok account actively lends their institution's credibility to a company that pushes content promoting suicide to kids, according to a Northeastern study.
To remain consistent with their stated missions, schools must publicly renounce the use of their official social media accounts.
Doing this would not substantially reduce traffic to these websites, but it would change the public perception of social media account ownership. Currently, most people are fed up with social media companies' abuse of technology. However, using their platforms is still seen as a neutral act, removed from these companies' wrongdoings. We must see this gap in perception as a harmful contradiction which has allowed public concern to coexist with public complacency.
We despise the use of intrusive data collection being used to feed an algorithm which is deliberately built to be addictive. We cannot tolerate the fact that it is being aggressively marketed to children.
The good news is that this is an increasingly common stance. There's no lack of concern. However, up until now, there has been an absurd lack of action.
What we need are leaders who are willing to show people what it looks like to take decisive and unifying action in an apathetic and divided time.
If I was making a decision on where to send my kid to school, I would send them to the school which is going to show them, by example, how to reflect on an issue, see how they fit into a bigger picture, determine a course of action, and move decisively to fix it. I would pick this school because I want my kid to be taught by people who can get fired up and attack a massive problem without doubting their ability to make a difference.
What does a school's administration think about the fact that these students are entering a world where we are using our greatest technological advancements to manipulate people? Are they willing to act when the same demographic they serve is being deliberately targeted by this technology?
Protecting them is most important, but we also have to show them that it is unacceptable to use scientific advances to wantonly profit. The responsibility of the coming generations is an incredibly heavy one. They will inherit technology far more powerful than anything previous generations encountered. The central moral challenge of their generation will likely be confronting the implications that come with it. If we come together, denounce what is happening, and demand change, we will send them into the world with a shining example of how to tackle the very issue that will be crucial for the rest of their lives.
Schools have a unique opportunity to be the leading example of reflecting our principles in our actions. The goal is to solidify a shared stance among the public: social media companies have crossed a line, and it is our responsibility to push back. We must demonstrate that we are able to step away. They have instilled the myth that their platforms are necessary. This false necessity has allowed them to continue operating in an incredibly negligent way, despite widespread knowledge of the harm they are causing.
If this would be a sacrifice for universities to make, it would be a wise one. Colleges are facing enrollment cliffs, and people are arguing that a degree is not valuable. A common criticism is that universities are merely businesses. They say colleges sell degrees without caring whether they provide a strong education. This is a great opportunity to prove that philosophy wrong. It would reassert that colleges are grounded in principle and have an uplifting influence on society.
However, this would likely not even be a sacrifice for many universities. Official social media accounts are not majors drivers of enrollment. Most students make their decisions based on budget, official rankings, geographic location, connections, and word-of-mouth reputation. Colleges that participate could even attract more students, as it allows them to stand out from their competition.
We also understand that colleges value giving their community a place to connect online, and we propose a solution. The staff and resources currently used to maintain social media accounts can be redirected to building out content sharing and forum-based discussion on their official websites. This would minimize the impact on livelihoods and communications.
What we are really talking about is building momentum to address an already common grievance. The harm is well documented. It cannot be tolerated. All that remains is a question of will.
We are asking schools to do something straightforward: stop lending your names to companies that have caused great harm to the generation we are trying to build up. Suspend use of your accounts, and make a public statement.