Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy calls for urgent Congressional action to label social media apps akin to cigarettes and alcohol, emphasizing their detrimental impact on youth mental health. In a New York Times op-ed, Murthy highlights studies revealing that teens who spend extensive time on social media face heightened risks of depression. With social media use nearly universal among children, Murthy stresses the need for legislative intervention to protect young users. He urges Congress to pass legislation requiring warning labels on apps, underscoring the gravity of the mental health crisis exacerbated by social media.
“I put forward this call for a warning because I think it’s essential that parents know what we now know, which is that there are significant harms associated with social media use,” Murthy said.
Dr. Vivek Murthy, Surgeon General, points to the success of warning labels on tobacco, which have reduced smoking rates since 1965, as a model for regulating social media. Despite congressional scrutiny and public apologies from tech CEOs like Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg over online harm to children, legislative action remains limited. Murthy urges Congress to prioritize safeguarding children from social media’s potential harms, advocating for warning labels until evidence proves platforms are safe. He stresses the urgency of this issue and calls for swift legislative measures to protect young users.
A Growing Conflict
Dr. Vivek Murthy, who has long cautioned about the negative impact of social media on children, escalated his concerns in a recent urgent plea to Congress. Despite issuing advisories urging parental restrictions and highlighting the mental health risks, Murthy stresses that more decisive action is needed to address the growing crisis. He emphasized that social media platforms, designed to maximize engagement, contribute significantly to youth mental health challenges. Murthy advocated for collaborative efforts among parents to manage children’s social media use effectively, underscoring the need for broader societal action beyond individual responsibility.
Urgent Call for Further Measures
Dr. Vivek Murthy acknowledged that even if Congress mandates warning labels on social media, it wouldn’t fully resolve the issue. He proposed broader measures, such as establishing phone-free zones in schools and during family meals, and encouraging parents to limit their children’s social media use until they finish middle school.
Across several states, bipartisan efforts are underway to regulate children’s access to social media. Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis recently signed legislation preventing children under 14 from creating social media accounts without parental consent, while New York is considering a bill to ban algorithmic feeds for minors and restrict data sharing by tech companies.
Murthy emphasized the importance of collective parental action, urging families to collaborate on setting guidelines to alleviate the burden on individual parents. He highlighted the significance of this issue by comparing the potential health risks of social media to those associated with alcohol and cigarettes, stressing its impact on children’s mental health and well-being.
