(PatriotsUnited.org) – The U.S. Surgeon General has called for warnings on social media to tackle the spiraling mental health crisis among young internet users. Vivek H. Murthy said tobacco-style warning labels should be used online as a matter of urgency.
He described such psychological issues as an “emergency” for young people and said such dramatic labels could help alter dangerous habits. He referred to a survey that concluded that 76% of U.S. parents backed reducing or monitoring their kids’ social media activities due to concerns over exposure to negative content.
The Surgeon General cited the horrific tale of a girl who took her own life in Colorado, despite her mother closely keeping track of her daughter’s social media use., lamenting how parents often felt “helpless”. Murthy acknowledged that warning labels alone would not suffice to mitigate the risks posed by social media. He called for congressional action to implement broader safety measures, appreciating the “strong bipartisan support” for such initiatives as outlined in his advisory, “Social Media and Youth Mental Health.”
He pointed out historical precedents where legislative actions successfully mitigated public safety risks, such as laws reducing road fatalities and the grounding of airplanes by the Federal Aviation Administration following safety concerns. Murthy questioned why similar urgency has not been applied to social media, which he views as equally hazardous. Murthy proposed several specific legislative measures, including preventing social media platforms from collecting sensitive data from children and restricting features like push notifications, autoplay, and infinite scroll. These features, he argued, exploit the developing brains of young users and contribute to excessive usage.
Additionally, Murthy advocated for independent safety audits of social media companies, the establishment of phone-free zones by parents and schools, and the promotion of healthy digital environments by public health authorities. He suggested that parents should delay their children’s access to social media until after middle school, reinforcing his belief that protecting children is a fundamental moral responsibility of society.
Murthy’s call comes amid growing international concern over youth social media usage. Earlier in June, French President Emmanuel Macron endorsed a proposal to ban smartphone use for children under 11 and social media for those under 15.
Copyright 2024, PatriotsUnited.org
