Surgeon General wants warnings for social media platforms

Top line

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on Monday called on Congress to pass a law requiring social media platforms to carry a warning about the harm they pose to adolescent mental health, after the nation's top health official sounded the alarm last year about the impact of social media on young people.

Highlights

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Crucial quote

“Why have we failed to address the harms of social media when they are no less urgent or widespread than those posed by unsafe cars, planes or food? Murthy wrote in his editorial on Monday. “These harms are not the result of a lack of will or a lack of parenting; they are the consequence of deploying powerful technology without adequate security measures, transparency or accountability.

Large number

96%. This is the share of American adolescents aged 13 to 17 who say they use the Internet at least daily, according to a Pew Research survey conducted in September and October 2023, including 46% who say they are online “almost constantly” and 47% who say being online “almost constantly.” say they use the Internet “several times a day.” That's a significant increase from the 24% of teens who reported being online “almost constantly” in 2014 and 2015.

To monitor

Whether Congress will adopt Murthy's warning suggestion, although the impacts of social media use on teens, is one that both parties have expressed concern about, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S. .C., accusing tech executives in January of having “blood on your hands.” Murthy also suggested passing legislation banning features that make social media platforms more addictive, such as infinite scrolling and autoplay; banning social media platforms from collecting sensitive data about children and requiring them to publicly report any data on the health effects of their products, to address concerns about the impact of social media on mental health. Murthy also called on schools, parents and pediatricians to ban phones in schools or prevent children from using them at certain times, and to talk about the risks of social media with patients and their parents.

Key context

Social media use among adolescents has become a growing concern, as studies have suggested a link between the use of these platforms and mental health problems. A 2019 study found that using social media for more than three hours a day increased the risk of mental health problems, including depression and anxiety, while in a 2022 survey of adolescents, approximately the Half of those surveyed said social media made them feel “alone and isolated.” at least sometimes, and 46% said it made them feel worse about their body. Thirty-three states filed a lawsuit against Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, in October 2023 over the platforms' impacts on children and teens, arguing the company misled the public about the impacts that its products could have on young users and used “psychologically manipulative methods”. » features to make their platforms more addictive; the dispute is pending. Executives from social media companies testified before Congress in January about the impact of their products on young users. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, and Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snap, apologized to parents of children who were victimized on social media, but Zuckerberg asserted: “The existing body of scientific work has not shown a causal link between the use of social media and the mental health of young people. .”

Further reading

Surgeon General: For the Safety of Our Children, Social Media Platforms Need a Health Warning (New York Times)

Meta sued by 33 states for 'significant dangers' to children on Instagram and Facebook (Forbes)