The U.S. Surgeon General is demanding warning labels for social media platforms similar to cigarette packaging meant to discourage young people from smoking.
“In May 2023, I outlined recommendations to make social media safer for kids,” Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy posted on social media Monday. “Yet parents and children are still waiting for change.”
Murthy renewed his call for lawmakers to urgently address the “youth mental health crisis” he believes platforms like X and TikTok are contributing to in an editorial published by the New York Times.
“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,” he wrote. “A surgeon general’s warning label, which requires congressional action, would regularly remind parents and adolescents that social media has not been proved safe.”
The nation’s top doctor argued that young people who spend at least three hours daily on social media are twice as likely to experience anxiety and depression. The average adolescent reportedly average 4.8 hours of daily social media use in 2023. Roughly half of social media users in that age demographic said what they saw online contributed to negative feelings about their bodies.
Murthy claimed the success of similar labels first recommended for tobacco products in 1964 demonstrates public awareness campaigns can be effective in curbing toxic consumption. He cited a recent Brookings Institution study that found more than three-of-four Latino parents surveyed would would limit their children’s time on social media if federal regulators issued such an advisory
The National Institutes of Health published research a decade ago suggesting online social networking was responsible for “profound changes in the way people communicate and interact” though researchers were unclear on whether it causes “psychiatric disorders” or impacts kids in particular.
Murthy wants the labels he called for Monday to clarify “social media is associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents.”
The surgeon general further wants to see federal legislation aimed at protecting young people from online harassment, extreme violence and sexual content manipulated by algorithms.
Despite voluntary safety efforts made by some social media platforms, Murthy wants a mandate forcing such businesses to publicly share data and facilitate independent audits.
“Americans need more than words,” Murthy wrote. “We need proof.”
