(Daily360.com) The surgeon general of the United States is advocating for a warning to be added to social media platforms in an attempt to combat a mental health crisis. Vivek Murthy wrote an op-ed for the New York Times explaining that social media platforms are contributing significantly to the mental health deterioration of young people in America.
Murthy mentioned the usefulness of warning labels and pointed to a study that shows the effectiveness of tobacco warning labels to decrease smoking. Murthy has said social media use by adolescents is linked to increases in bullying, violence, and depression. A survey by the Brookings Institute asked Latino parents if they would support policies that would curb the negative effects of social media use on children. 76% of the parents believed that children’s social media use should be limited and/or monitored to some degree.
Murthy said a warning label on these platforms will be a frequent reminder to parents and adolescents that social media use is not proven to be safe. He said parents often feel hopeless in trying to combat the negative effects that are occurring in their children from having unfettered access to social media platforms. Murthy stressed that adding a warning label would not magically make the platforms safe. It would only be a reminder to all users to encourage limitations for the health and well-being of America’s children.
A lawsuit was initiated in the fall of 2023 against Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. The lawsuit that has been supported by 42 states plus the District of Columbia alleges that addictive algorithms are harmful to adolescent users of the social media platforms. The complaint provides a myriad of studies that link extensive social media use to depression in young users.
A 2023 survey regarding the social media habits of teenagers found the average American teenager spends 4.8 hours a day across all social media platforms.
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