The US surgeon general has asked for a warning label to be included on social media platforms, similar to ones included on cigarettes and other tobacco products.
In a New York Times op-ed piece published Monday, Dr Vivek Murthy argued that social media platforms have contributed to a mental health crisis among US youth.
“It is time to require a surgeon general’s warning label on social media platforms, stating that social media is associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents,” Murthy wrote, comparing the labels to one used on tobacco products.
“A surgeon general’s warning label, which requires congressional action, would regularly remind parents and adolescents that social media has not been proved safe.”
Murthy added that policy makers need to take additional steps beyond warning labels to make social media safer for children and teens.
He called on legislators to mandate that technology companies share health data associated with social media, support funding for additional research and other initiatives.
This isn’t the first time that Murthy has warned about the dangers about social media.
Last year, the US’s top doctor issued a formal warning about social media, arguing that the platforms carried “a profound risk of harm” for US youth and their mental health.
Murthy again called on lawmakers to regulate social media, similar to how cars are required to have safety equipment.
“What’s happening in social media is the equivalent of having children in cars that have no safety features and driving on roads with no speed limits,” Murthy said to the Guardian in March. “No traffic lights and no rules whatsoever. And we’re telling them: ‘you know what, do your best – figure out how to manage it.’ It is insane if you think about it.”
Social media use has exploded among adolescents and teens in the US. Approximately 95% of people between the ages of 13 and 17 use social media platforms, including Facebook, TikTok and Instagram.
American youth also spend more than four hours a day on said websites, according to a Gallup poll conducted last year.
But recent studies on the impact of social media have shown that popular platforms have been associated with poor mental health.
The increased use of social media apps, specifically Facebook, at US colleges has been associated with an increase in depression and anxiety, according to a 2022 study published in the American Economic Review.
More legislators have put pressure on social media companies to address the impacts the platforms could be having.
The heads of tech companies, including the Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, have been called to testify in Congress about how they are addressing online harassment on their platforms.
States have also started to weigh legislation to limit social media use among childcare.
New York state passed two laws earlier this month that restrict social media feeds for children under 18 unless they have parental approval and a bill that bans online websites from collecting, using, sharing or selling personal data of minors unless they receive informed consent or unless doing so is necessary for the purpose of the website.
