New Jersey Social Media Legislation Brings Renewed Focus to Youth Mental Health

Millburn, NJ, Aug. 25, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- New Jersey’s newly enacted three-bill package will establish a research center dedicated to studying social media’s effects on young people and create new online privacy and safety protections for minors. The action brings renewed statewide focus to the relationship between social media, youth mental health and substance use prevention.

The Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey (PDFNJ) has made this issue a prevention priority through research and public education. In November 2024, PDFNJ and the Opioid Education Foundation of America sponsored an FDU Poll that found 60 percent of New Jersey voters believed social media was generally bad for young people’s mental health. Seventy-seven percent supported cigarette-style warning labels for social media platforms, and half of parents whose children used social media said they did not monitor that use.

“Social media’s potential impact on youth mental health is an important prevention issue,” said Angelo M. Valente, Executive Director of PDFNJ. “The FDU Poll showed strong public concern, while also identifying gaps in how families understand and monitor young people’s social media use. That is why continued research, education and family communication are so important.”

PDFNJ began highlighting these concerns through a statewide public service campaign launched in 2023. The campaign focused on the increased amount of time adolescents were spending on their phones and encouraged families to consider how social media pressures and excessive screen time may affect young people’s emotional well-being and potentially increase their vulnerability to substance use and misuse.

Signed by Gov. Mikie Sherrill on August 11, the legislation establishes a Social Media Research Center at a New Jersey public institution of higher education. The center will research the effects of social media use, study potentially addictive social media behavior among young people, develop educational resources and recommend possible measures such as warning labels and advertising disclaimers.

A third measure, the New Jersey Kids Code Act, restricts advertising directed toward minors, limits the collection and use of minors’ personal information and requires covered online services to make their highest available privacy and safety protections the default settings for young users.

PDFNJ’s 2023 campaign followed warnings from then-U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy about the potential effects of social media on adolescent mental health. Campaign messages appeared on New Jersey Transit buses and trains, PATH trains, bus shelters and billboards throughout the state.

Family communication remains a cornerstone of PDFNJ’s prevention efforts. PDFNJ research has found that children whose parents speak with them for at least 15 minutes each day are 67 percent less likely to experiment with drugs and alcohol.

“Regular, honest conversations give families an opportunity to discuss what children are experiencing online, identify concerns and reinforce healthy ways of managing pressure and stress,” Valente said. The new Social Media Research Center will add New Jersey-specific research to help families, educators and policymakers better understand how online platforms may affect young people and what additional safeguards should be considered.

For more information about PDFNJ’s substance use prevention and family education initiatives, visit www.drugfreenj.org.Top of Form

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Best known for its statewide substance use prevention advertising campaign, the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey is a private not-for-profit coalition of professionals from the communications, corporate and government communities whose collective mission is to reduce demand for illicit drugs in New Jersey through media communication.  To date, more than $200 million in broadcast time and print space has been donated to the Partnership’s New Jersey campaign, making it the largest public service advertising campaign in New Jersey’s history. Since its inception, the Partnership has earned 233 advertising and public relations awards from national, regional and statewide media organizations.

Lisa Batitto
Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey
973-467-2100
news@drugfreenj.org