Westchester County Board of Legislators Health Committee Discusses Social Media Impact on Youth and Protective Measures - June 10, 2026
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Westchester County Board of Legislators Health Committee Discusses Social Media Impact on Youth and Protective Measures - June 10, 2026
The Health Committee of the Westchester County Board of Legislators, chaired by Legislator Jewel Williams Johnson, convened on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, at 11:11 a.m. and adjourned at 12:27 p.m. The meeting focused on the impact of social media on youth and potential limits for protection. Guest speakers included Nikki Brown (Founder, Sister Nicole Speaks), Will Hatcher (King Willonius, Founder, AI & The Culture), and Dr. Andy Bell (Program Director, Westchester County Department of Community Mental Health). Adam Rubinovich, Executive Director of the Westchester Children's Association, also participated via chat.
Discussion Items
- Chair Williams Johnson opened by framing social media as both a source of connection and a source of risks such as cyberbullying, anxiety, depression, and distorted body image. She noted that New York State passed the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act and the New York Child Data Protection Act in June 2024, with implementation steps ongoing.
- Nikki Brown presented the "ABCs and 1-2-3s" of digital safety: Awareness (including asking questions), Boundaries (device-free meals, no phones in bedrooms), and Conversations (ongoing, open communication). She emphasized that adults must model healthy tech use and avoid being hypocritical.
- Dr. Andy Bell stated that current protections are "absolutely not" strong enough. He explained that social media can hijack the dopamine reward system, interfere with developmental tasks like serve-and-return interactions, and contribute to addiction. He advocated for the "POWER" model: Play, Outdoor time, Work/chores, Engagement (conversation), and Reading.
- Will Hatcher (King Willonius) noted that for many young people, constant digital engagement is their baseline, and adults should seek to understand their world rather than simply condemn technology. He observed that children today share a global, instantaneous culture (e.g., knowing the same viral jokes) and that the long-term effects are unknown.
- Legislator Barr discussed the "Disconnect to Reconnect" initiative, a coalition aiming to reduce screen time and promote real-world connection, especially for young children. She compared tech companies' tactics to those of the tobacco industry, designed to maximize user attention and profit.
- Equity concerns were raised: Dr. Bell noted that families with fewer resources often have children using social media more, and that safe outdoor play spaces are inequitably distributed. Nikki Brown stressed the need to find alternative outdoor activities even in urban settings.
- Addiction was a recurring theme; speakers described social media platforms as deliberately addictive. Chair Williams Johnson suggested treating addictive platform design as a public health concern, with Dr. Bell agreeing emphatically.
- Student privacy and data collection were discussed, along with the need for age verification without compromising privacy.
Key Outcomes
- The committee agreed to explore organizing an algorithms workshop to educate parents and educators on managing device settings and understanding how algorithms influence content.
- A future meeting dedicated to algorithms and their impact on youth will be planned.
- The conversation reinforced the importance of grassroots parent organizing, community-wide standards for device use, and holding tech companies accountable through legal and regulatory measures.
Meeting Transcript
Requireum for anything. I could run over if you need me to. No, okay. We just discussed. Thank you. This meeting is being recorded and summarized. Good morning, everyone. I'm Jewel Williams Johnson, Chair of the Board of Legislative Committee on Health. Today is June 10th. And take attendance to start. Marking myself is here, Committee Vice Chair Barn. Yeah. Legislative memorable. Legislative Pierce, Legislative Uli, and Fair Magashi. We are officially opened at 1111 a.m. Apologies for being late. We had a 10 o'clock committee meeting that ran over. We are ready to dig in. Today's health committee discussion focuses on an issue that is shaping childhood, adolescence, family life, education, public health, public safety, and community well being in profound ways. The impact of social media on youth and the limits we should consider for their protection. For many young people, social media is not simply entertainment. It is where they connect, create, where they learn, compare, advocate, escape, and sometimes even suffer. It can be a source of belonging, creativity, culture, humor, information, and identity, but it can also expose you to cyber bullying, addictive design, anxiety, depression, distorted body image, sleep disruption, misinformation, exploitation, harassment, and pressure to measure their work through likes, views, comments, and constant visibility. It's not a conversation about blaming young people or demonizing technology. The digital world is here, and young people are growing up inside it. The question before us is whether that world has enough guardrails, whether those guardrails are working, and whether families, schools, government, community organizations, mental health professionals, and technology platforms are doing enough to protect children while still allowing them to learn, create, connect, and thrive. New York has already begun moving in this direction on June 7th of 2024. Governor Kathy Hopel announced the legislative passage of two major bills intended to protect children online, the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation or Safe for Kids Act, and the New York Child Data Protection Act. And then it was passed uh into law that same month. The Safe for Kids Act is aimed at restricting addictive social media feeds for users under 18 unless there is parental consent. And it also addresses uh overnight notifications to minors. The New York Child Data Protection Act strengthens protections around the collection, use sharing, and sale of minors' personal data. And our New York Attorney General's office has also moved forward with implementation steps, including proposed rules in September of last year, addressing age determination, addictive deeds, and lifetime notifications. At the federal level, proposals such as the Kids Online Safety Act have continued to raise important questions about platform accountability, privacy, parental controls, harmful design features, youth mental health, and the limits of government regulations. While federal legislation has not yet been enacted, the national conversation continues to evolve. These efforts are important, but they also raise difficult questions. How do we protect children without violating privacy? How do we verify age without collecting even more personal data? How do we address harmful algorithms without suppressing youth voice culture, identity, and access to supportive communities? How do we recognize the responsibility of platforms without placing the entire burden on parents, schools, or young people themselves? Today we are fortunate to have three guests who bring different but deeply connected perspectives. We welcome Nikki Brown, the life doula and founder of Sister Nicole Speaks, whose work centers healing, identity, emotional wellness, self-worth, and helping people navigate life's difficult transitions with care and truth. We welcome Mr. Will Hatcher, also known as King Willonis, founder of AI and the Culture, whose work sits at the intersection of artificial intelligence, creativity, storytelling, digital culture, humor, and the rapidly changing technology shaping what young people consume and create. And we welcome our own Dr. Andy Bell, program director at the County's Department of Community and Mental Health, who brings a critical public health and mental health systems perspective on what young families, schools, and communities are experiencing. This discussion is about balance. It's about protection without panic, accountability without overreach, innovation without exploitation, and freedom of expression without leaving children unprotected in digital spaces designed too often to hold their attention rather than safeguard their well-being. Our goal today is to better understand the risks, the realities and the opportunities and the limits, and to begin identifying practical steps that can help protect youth in Westchester and beyond. So again, thank you all for joining us.
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