Warning texts similar to those printed on cigarette packets should be on social media targeting young people, warns the head of the US public health authority.
In the social media companies' home state of California, the governor is promising tough action to restrict the use of smartphones in schools.
Depressions, eating disorders, sleep difficulties, and suicidal thoughts. Reports on the effects of social media on young people have been pouring in over the past few years. The other day, Vivek Murthy, head of the US federal public health authority HHS (known as the surgeon general), issued his sharpest warning yet.
"The mental health crisis among young people constitutes an emergency – and social media has proven to be a key cause", he wrote in a debate article in The New York Times.
In the text, the two-child father urges Congress to act to get warnings on social media platforms. This is in reference to how authorities previously acted against the tobacco industry and to make seatbelts and airbags the norm.
Praise and criticism
The debate article created shockwaves in several camps.
Murthy received support, including from the White House. But some commentators pointed out the difficulty of pushing through such a proposal in Congress, at a time when the powerful tech companies are facing competition from, among others, China, notes Axios. That warning texts on social media can be as easy to dismiss as warnings about offensive music lyrics was also highlighted.
Vivek Murthy acknowledges that warnings do not make social media safe. But studies on tobacco use show that such texts can increase risk awareness and change behaviour. He refers to a recent survey among Spanish-speaking Latinos where 76 per cent of the parents surveyed said they would restrict or monitor their children's use of social media if warning texts were present.
Restricting in school?
The risk of suffering from anxiety and depression is twice as high among young people who spend three hours or more on social media daily compared to others, according to Murphy. In the US, the average time young people spend on social media is 4.8 hours.
This has caught the attention of California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom. Just hours after Murthy's debate article was published, he promised to severely restrict the use of smartphones in the state's schools. Exactly how this will be done is unclear, Newsom will work with the state congress to get rules in place by August, writes Politico.
Similar legislation already exists in the state of Florida, governed by Republican Governor Ron de Santis.
