Two senators from opposite sides of the aisle are pushing Congress to act on social media's grip on young people, framing the issue not as a partisan battle but as a parental duty. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., spoke Thursday at an NBC News Common Ground event designed to bring lawmakers with different ideologies together around shared concerns.
"We did this together, not just as senators, but as parents because we have young children too," Fetterman said during an interview with NBC News' Kristen Welker. Britt echoed the sentiment, noting they approach social media legislation "not as Democrats or Republicans, but as concerned parents."
The two senators have already put their words into action. Britt introduced the "Stop the Scroll Act" last year, which would require social media platforms to display mental health warning labels. Fetterman has signed on as a co-sponsor, along with Democratic Sens. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Republican Sen. Jon Husted of Ohio.
Both lawmakers are also backing the "Kids Off Social Media Act," authored by Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii. That bill would mandate platforms and schools to restrict social media use among children and ban users under 13 from creating accounts. Neither measure has reached the Senate floor for a vote.
Britt pointed out that other nations have already moved to regulate social media while the United States lags behind. "We continue to kind of walk past it, and the time to do something is now," she said.
Fetterman spoke candidly about his own struggle with social media's mental toll. After winning his Senate seat in 2022, he said increased time on the platforms triggered a depressive episode. "When I made the mistake to do that after I won my election, that's when things really got bad and the depression set in," he recalled. He now limits his social media exposure deliberately.
Britt visited Fetterman at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in 2023 when he sought treatment for depression. She praised his openness and vulnerability. "John has more courage, and the strength that he showed in that moment is something that I hope everyone in America looks to and learns from," Britt said.
The two formed a fast friendship despite their partisan divide when both arrived as first-year senators in 2023. Britt won her Alabama seat by over 35 percentage points in a ruby red state, while Fetterman prevailed by nearly 5 points in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.
At the same event, Reps. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., and Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., criticized social media's corrosive effect on Congress itself. Malliotakis said the platforms have made her job "more miserable," pointing to backlash she faced for supporting a bipartisan House measure protecting Haitians living in the U.S., which contradicted an immigration priority of President Trump. Dingell was blunt: "Social media is, without fail, one of the worst things that's happened to this country."
The senators also discussed their stance on Iran policy. Both said they would vote to keep the U.S. militarily engaged, a position that makes Fetterman an outlier among Democrats. He is the only Democrat to consistently join Republicans in voting against war powers resolutions that would restrict Trump's actions in Iran. Fetterman called his position "toxic" for a Democrat but argued it is necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
When asked about his political future, Fetterman dodged, saying simply, "I have a future." He also reaffirmed his party loyalty despite his friendships across the aisle. "As much as I am friends with a lot of Republicans, including my parents, I'm not a Republican," he said.
One lighthearted moment arose when both senators expressed support for NASA but differed on whether they would accept a space trip. Britt said she would jump at the opportunity. Fetterman demurred, quipping, "I don't think they have a 4XL in a suit."
Author Sarah Mitchell: "When a Democrat and a red-state Republican find common ground on protecting kids from social media's mental health ravages, Congress should take notice and act before another generation suffers the consequences."
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