PERRY, Ga. — Soon, Georgia's teens will have their social media accounts regulated to make sure anyone younger than 16 has parental permission to be on the apps.
Senate Bill 351 was passed by the House and approved by the Senate. Then, last week, it was signed by Gov. Brian Kemp.
At the Willis home, family is everything. That's why Perry parents, Joy Willis and Greg Willis created rules to protect their kids' innocence on social media.
"I told my kids that they could not have it at all at first. And they thought that I was the strict parent, but it was more for their safety," Joy Willis said.
Joy Willis offers real estate services through Keller Williams West Atlanta. She uses social media daily for her job.
"Like 90% of my business comes from social media. I have people DM me, if they see it- advertisement, like hey, yeah, I want you to be my realtor," she said.
But she also knows social media could have people interacting with children who don't have good intentions.
"Predators, because people who will say they're eight or nine years old, but really adults. And wanna take your kids, kidnap them," she said.
That's why they try to be proactive about what their kids hear and do on their cell phones.
"We had weekly meetings that we sit down and talk about- my husband put that in order. And basically letting them know, like hey, you let us know if you have any bullies," Willis said.
She said they support the bill, and while they know kids might find a way around the parental permission, she said it's a good regulation to have in place.
Her 15-year-old son Christian Willis agrees.
"I think it's good for like upcoming teenagers, so they don't like go fall into the bad things of the world now," Christian Willis said.
He's a freshman in high school but has a mature perspective on the harm social media can do.
He said that's because he's seen it become an unhealthy obsession with other kids his age.
"I just feel like people post a lot about their business and they should keep it to themselves instead," Willis said.
And while he said he sometimes misses out on keeping up with the latest school gossip on social media, he spends that time instead doing other things he loves.
The bill will also ban social media use on school devices and internet services. It would also require adult sites to verify that users are 18 or older. Additionally, it requires schools to give additional education on social media and internet use.