If you're local to Utah, chances are high that you've recently heard a great deal about the state's official flag, especially with all of the buzz about the new design during this past legislative session.

Given all of the commotion surrounding the latest version of the state flag and its predecessor (including the recently failed effort to put the issue on November’s ballot), it may surprise you to learn of the slightly slower approach the Beehive State took when choosing its very first banner.

In 1896, the year Utah gained its statehood, the state had almost everything it needed as a brand-new state. Governor? Check. State Constitution? Check. State Seal? Check. A state flag? ... No. The state's banner has undergone several makeovers, but surprisingly, Utah has actually undergone considerably large periods of time of being, well, flagless.

Gearing up for legal fight with social media companies, Utah governor says kids are suffering from algorithmic addiction

The effect that popular social media apps like TikTok have on children is akin to an addiction, Gov. Spencer Cox said during his monthly PBS Utah news conference. The governor also said that he “hates” comments “mostly from non-parents” that blame parents for their children's excessive social media use.

“The people that say that do not understand addiction,” Cox said. “Many of the people that shout this at me, ‘if you were a better parent, your kid wouldn’t be spending so much time on social media,’ and yet would never blame an addict, an alcoholic or a drug addict, for their addictions.”

Cox sympathized with parents "who have had their kids go through addictive treatment to break them of this social media addiction that they have. They’ve tried everything.”

The governor's comments come shortly after he made history by signing two bills that made Utah the first state in the U.S. to bar anyone under 18 years old from using social media without express permission from a parent or guardian.

Read more on Gov. Cox's comments and why Utah may face a lawsuit.

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