Albany — In her 2024 State of the State address, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said social media is a silent killer of our children’s generation.
In his 2024 State of the City address, New York City Mayor Eric Adams declared social media a public health hazard.
At the US Capitol last week, members of Congress grilled the CEOs of the major social media companies, prodding them to apologize to the parents who sat behind them. Those parents had lost their children due to suicide.
Also last week, while discussing the causes and solutions of gun violence amongst youth in the Capital Region with members of SNUG, social media became part of the conversation.
“It’s a major affect on youth and this violence because 9 times out of 10, they don’t even know each other, its all about social media,” Emerald Cancer-Simmons, 518 SNUG program manager, says. “Even some youth that we’ve sat down, they don’t know each other from a hole in the wall.”
“Social media is the devil, it’s the worst because it’s immediate,” James Chestnut, the Troy SNUG Program Manager said. “Somebody see you, ‘Hey, he just made a video about you? Really, oh, now we’re off the to races.'”
They say much of the mediation they provide now involves disputes that began on social media platforms. Barbeques, sporting events and other community gatherings are key pieces of contact points for members of SNUG and youth.
“We speak it out, nobody has to get shot, nobody has to go to jail, if you guys want to talk to each other go talk to each other, but we mediate the conflict,” Chestnut says.
As people like Cancer-Simmons and Chestnut work to diffuse tension built up through platforms, the officials referenced above are proposing ways to prevent harm, before it begins.
Governor Hochul is pledging to require social media companies to restrict their addictive features, and allow parents to block access for certain hours of the day.
In declaring social media a public health hazard, Mayor Eric Adams and the City gave parents steps to promote healthy social media use, while also calling on policymakers to build better legislation to safeguard the platforms.
Social media companies have pushed back on these types of designations, saying they have implemented safeguards and added age restrictions.
Meanwhile, members of Congress say they want to change laws prohibiting users from suing the platforms.
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