ASSEMBLY CHILDREN, FAMILIES AND FOOD SECURITY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 2367

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  MAY 8, 2025

      The Assembly Children, Families and Food Security Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 2367.

      this bill requires the Department of Education to establish a public awareness campaign on the dangers of social media use to minors.  The purpose of the campaign is to help the public, and in particular parents and guardians, better respond to the needs of minors, and utilize current research findings, including those arising from the United States Surgeon General’s May 2023 advisory on social media and youth mental health which found that up to 95 percent of American minors between ages 13-17 report using a social media platform and more than a third saying they use social media “almost constantly.” 

      Under the bill, the Department of Education, in consultation with the Commissioner of Health, will develop and implement a public awareness campaign on the dangers of social media use to minors through media outlets which include, but are not limited to: Statewide newspapers, radio, public service announcements, social media, television ads, and any other media outlets deemed appropriate by the Commissioner of Education, no later than 180 days after this bill is enacted. The public awareness campaign builds on the progress of the Commission on the Effects of Social Media Usage on Adolescents established by law on July 24, 2023.

      The Commissioner of Education will report to the Governor, and to the Legislature, no later than 24 months after the effective date of the bill, on the activities and accomplishments of the public awareness campaign.

      Finally, the bill appropriates $500,000 from the General Fund to the Department of Education to develop and implement the public awareness campaign.