US Surgeon General Calls for Mandatory Social Media Warning Labels to Address Teen Mental Health Crisis
In an opinion article published in the New York Times on Monday, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy advocated for a mandatory warning label on social media platforms, highlighting the mental health risks they pose to teenagers. Murthy likened these warnings to those found on tobacco and alcohol products, which have been proven to “increase awareness and change behavior.”
“The mental health crisis among young people is an emergency — and social media has emerged as an important contributor,” Murthy wrote in his opinion article. He emphasized the urgent need for a surgeon general’s warning label on social media platforms, stating that such a label would remind parents and adolescents of the significant mental health harms associated with social media use.
Murthy pointed to alarming statistics, noting that teenagers who spend over three hours a day on social media are twice as likely to suffer from anxiety and depression. On average, teens spend 4.8 hours a day on these platforms. Additionally, almost half of teenagers reported feeling worse about their bodies due to social media.
In response to this, the Surgeon General called on Congress to pass legislation to protect young people from online harassment and abuse.
“Legislation from Congress should shield young people from online harassment, abuse and exploitation and from exposure to extreme violence and sexual content that too often appears in algorithm-driven feeds,” Murthy explained. “The measures should prevent platforms from collecting sensitive data from children and should restrict the use of features like push notifications, autoplay and infinite scroll, which prey on developing brains and contribute to excessive use.”
“While the platforms claim they are making their products safer, Americans need more than words. We need proof,” Murthy added. He also suggested that schools should enforce phone-free classrooms to eliminate distractions and create a better learning environment for students.
“Why is it that we have failed to respond to the harms of social media when they are no less urgent or widespread than those posed by unsafe cars, planes or food?” Murthy questioned. “These harms are not a failure of willpower and parenting; they are the consequence of unleashing powerful technology without adequate safety measures, transparency or accountability.”
