Office of Medical Communications

Heidi Schumacher, M.D.’10, assistant professor of pediatrics

(FEBRUARY 15, 2024) Heidi Schumacher, M.D.’10, assistant professor of pediatrics, spoke to the Rutland Herald about a bill aimed at protecting children from the harmful effects of social media.

The bill—S.289, “an act relating to age-appropriate design code,” also known as The Kids Code—would require tech companies to have the safety of young people in mind when they develop products, including, for example, limits on screen time, limits on when push notifications can be sent, and banning some of social media’s more addictive features.

The bill is supported by the Vermont Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said Schumacher. The 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, she said, shows 73 percent of high-schoolers in Vermont, and 57 percent of middle school students, reported being in front of a screen for at least three hours or more per day.

Social media can be a positive thing for children, she said. “But in too many cases, young people themselves believe they are spending too much time on social media, but find themselves unable to unplug because of features intentionally designed to keep them hooked.”

This topic was also covered in the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus (3/21/2024).