Katie Britt: “Senator Helmy, thank you so much for your leadership on this important issue from day one. Mr. President, you, yourself…”

“Senator Helmy, thank you so much for your leadership on this important issue from day one. Mr. President, you, yourself, have led on this issue significantly. I think it is important for our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to come together and understand just how pressing America's mental health crisis really is. I was honored when Senator Helmy came to me right after being sworn in and told me that he wanted to work together on mental health issues and social media. And that is what we are doing here today. And all of the statistics that Senator Helmy mentioned are not only horrifying but really challenging to even wrap our head around. The word ``crisis'' doesn't even begin to capture what we are up against. And while we should always be wary of pointing to just one culprit, there is one that stands out amongst the rest; and that is social media. As a mom of two teenagers, I see firsthand--and I hear from other moms--about the effects of social media on our country's children. And at the same time, those incredibly distressing trends that Senator Helmy detailed took place, social media usage became pervasive among America's kids. And the numbers back it up. So if you look, 54 percent of teenagers said it would be hard to give up social media. Half of all teens say that they are addicted to their phones. That was in a 2016 survey. I can't imagine what it would say today.…”