American Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy has urged the American Congress to pass a bill towards putting a health-risk label on social media apps as it does with cigarettes and alcohol.
Murthy who spoke with CNN on Monday confirmed that alcohol and cigarettes are currently the only two products with Surgeon General warning labels but that the overall health risk of social media is “just as profound.”
He emphasised that the threat social media poses to children and teenagers requires urgent action.
“The mental health crisis among young people is an emergency, and social media has emerged as an important contributor. We’re talking about the mental health and wellbeing of kids,” he said.
Murthy cited several studies, including a 2019 American Medical Association study published in JAMA which showed that teens who spend three hours a day on social media double their risk of depression.
According to a Gallup poll, teens spend nearly five hours a day on social media apps. Murthy said that the prevalence of social media use among kids is over 95%, “nearly universal.”
“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 stated.
The Surgeon stressed that it is time for Congress to get serious about curbing children’s use of social media, noting that CEOs of Tech Companies have apologised countless times to parents whose children died as a result of social media bullying.
“Until that point in time, when we have reliable evidence that tells us social media is safe and changes are being made and will be made in the future, parents deserve to be warned. That’s where the label comes in,” he said.
Murthy said he hopes Congress will introduce legislation to add a Surgeon General’s warning label on social media as soon as possible. “I think this is an urgent issue.”
This is not the first time Dr. Murphy has raised an alarm about the use of social media among children and teenagers.
He had suggested to the media in May 2024 that parents should restrict their kids’ social media use, saying that a 13-year-old is too young to join social apps.
“We’re in the middle of a youth mental health crisis, and I’m concerned that social media is contributing to the harm that kids are experiencing.
“For too long, we have placed the entire burden of managing social media on the shoulders of parents and kids, even though these platforms are designed by some of the most talented engineers and designers in the world to maximise the amount of time that our kids spend on them,” Murphy said.
He suggested that schools become phone-free environments for children, as should dinner time and other family events.
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