Social media warning labels and school cell phone bans: Do they unlock better youth mental health?

Efforts to ban smart phones in classrooms are well intentioned and seek to support youth, but research supporting these practices is still unsettled. (Shutterstock)

This week, the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy called for health warnings on social media for younger users. This recent call follows an earlier Advisory on Social Media and Youth Mental Health, also published by the Surgeon General.

Health warnings on social media would be analogous to the ones seen on cigarette packages, serving as reminders to parents and youth of the mental health risks of social media. The Surgeon General also called for schools to become phone-free environments. Although in his op-ed, Murthy acknowledged that research on these topics is not yet conclusive, he also noted that we “don’t have the luxury to wait for perfect information.”