U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on Monday called on Congress to require a tobacco style warning for visitors to social media platforms.
In an opinion article published in The New York TimesMurthy said the mental health crisis among young people is an urgent problem, with social media “an important contributor”.
He said his vision for the alert includes language that would alert users to the potential mental health harms caused by the sites and apps.
“A warning label from the surgeon general, which calls for congressional action, would regularly remind parents and teens that social media has not been proven safe,” he wrote.
Tune in to “TODAY” at 7am ET/6am CT Monday for an exclusive interview with Murthy.
In 1965, following the previous year’s landmark report by Surgeon General Luther L. Terry linking cigarette smoking to lung cancer and heart disease, Congress mandated unprecedented measures warning labels on cigarette packsthe first of which stated: “Caution: smoking can be dangerous to your health.”
Murthy said in the article, “Evidence from tobacco labels shows that surgeon general warnings can raise awareness and change behavior.” But he acknowledged the limitations and said a label alone would not make social media safe.
Congress, social media companies, parents and others can take steps to mitigate risks, ensure a safer online experience and protect children from potential harm, he wrote.
In the article, Murthy linked the amount of time spent on social media to the increasing risk of children showing symptoms of anxiety and depression.
The American Psychological Association says teenagers spend almost five hours every day on major platforms such as YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. In a 2019 study, the association found that the proportion of young adults experiencing suicidal thoughts or other suicide-related outcomes increased by 47% between 2008 and 2017, when social media use among this age group soared.
And that was before the pandemic triggered a year of virtual isolation for the US. In early 2021, amid ongoing pandemic lockdowns, Murthy called on social media platforms to “proactively improve and contribute to the mental health and well-being of our children.”
In January, at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the impact of social media on young people, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologized to parents who said the Meta Instagram platform contributed to their children’s suicide or exploitation.
“I’m sorry for everything you’ve been through,” he said. “It’s terrible. No one should have to go through the things their families have suffered.”
A general surgeon public health advisory on the mental health of social networks, published last year, cited an investigation that concluded that its potential harms include exposure to violent and sexual content and intimidation, harassment and body shaming.
Murthy also focused in the 2023 release on what social media doesn’t seem to do: It doesn’t always improve mental health through the proven method of face-to-face interaction.
“For many children, social media use is compromising their sleep and valuable personal time with family and friends,” he said in a statement last year announcing the health alert.
At a conference on youth mental health crisis Last month, Murthy said, “It’s no longer culture for people to talk to each other.”
He was careful to note that the research on the topic is inconclusive, with much of it finding correlations between time spent on social media and negative effects on mental health, but without establishing cause and effect.
“More research is needed to fully understand the impact of social media,” he said in last year’s release.
And he recognized that social media can help teens find a community, a connection and a place to express themselves.
The companies behind the world’s most popular social media platforms have not yet responded to Monday’s article.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live on 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.
If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, visit The National Eating Disorders Association website website.
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