Guest opinion: Beyond screen time — Wisconsin should focus on the features that keep teens engaged

For Wisconsin parents, the most disturbing aspects of their teen’s phone probably have little to do with screen time. Bigger questions surround what happens inside the apps: notifications, endless feeds, the urge to keep checking and personalized recommendations. Families sense these problems even when scientists can’t prove causation or define a diagnosis.

Wisconsin’s Assembly Bill 963 aimed to target some of those features. It would have required large platforms to estimate users’ ages, obtain parental consent for minors and add safeguards such as the highest-privacy settings, no targeted advertising and no infinite scrolling or profile-based feeds. The Assembly passed it in February with bipartisan support, but the Senate didn’t take it up before adjourning in March 2026, meaning it did not become law.

What the research does — and does not — tell us

About 97% of teens use the internet daily, and about four in 10 say they’re online almost constantly, according to the Pew Research Center.

Nearly half of teens also express concerns about social media: 48% say it has a mostly negative effect on people their age, and 45% say they spend too much time on it, Pew’s surveys show.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that frequent social media use is associated with a higher prevalence of persistent sadness or hopelessness, bullying and certain suicide-related risks. But association isn’t proof of causality. Teens experiencing psychological difficulties may use social media differently, and many other factors shape their well-being.

A systematic review of 32 studies on adolescent anxiety and social media found similarly mixed evidence. More than half found a positive association between social media use and anxiety, with stronger associations in studies focused on problematic use. Even so, the authors called for more research and better ways to measure use.

The distinction between association and causation matters as lawmakers consider a difficult question: How should they regulate potential harms that researchers are still working to define?

From screen time to platform design

Wisconsin is part of a national movement. By March 2026, all 50 states had introduced legislation on digital media and minors, ranging from age verification and parental consent to feature restrictions and limits on targeted advertising. States have also pursued social media companies through litigation.

Attorney General Josh Kaul joined Wisconsin in a 47-state settlement with Meta that requires stronger child-safety measures, including time limits, age-assurance measures and limits on push notifications.

The settlement matters, but it applies only to Meta and does not cover every design feature targeted by AB 963. The bill would have set broader standards for large social media platforms, including limits on targeted advertising, infinite scrolling and profile-based feeds.

AB 963 focused on minors’ social media accounts and the platforms themselves, shifting attention from whether and how long children use social media to how platforms are designed to keep them engaged.

If a platform’s design encourages engagement through features such as personalized recommendations, infinite scrolling or constant notifications, responsibility should not fall entirely on the child or parent. Parents can identify problems and set boundaries, but they cannot control every feature built into an application they did not design.

Measuring whether the rules work

Although AB 963 stalled this year, similar proposals are likely to return. If Wisconsin enacts a similar proposal, lawmakers should measure whether the protections change how platforms operate and improve young people’s online experiences.

Wisconsin does not need to wait for perfect scientific certainty before taking reasonable steps to protect children. But evidence, not fear, should drive any response.

Stan Gottfredson is president of Atraxia Law, a paralegal firm supporting families dealing with the legal and practical challenges minors face online.

Originally published by Wisconsin Watch.