P. Coonan
2024-06-22 03:02:16 UTC
In 1964, Surgeon General Luther Terry issued an advisory that tobacco use
is hazardous to your health. Terry's pronouncement led Congress to
institute the warning labels that are on cigarette packages to this day.
It also helped lead to a dramatic decrease in cigarette use, saving
millions of lives.
In that same spirit, current Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an
advisory last year about the effect that social media has on youth mental
health. This week, he urged Congress to require that digital warnings be
attached to social media platforms.
I spoke with Dr. Murthy this week on Doctor Radio on SiriusXM about his
efforts. He said his concerns resonate with his own experience and worries
as a parent.
My kids are of an age, 6 and 7, where they are not on social media yet,
but when my daughter was in preschool she came home one day and asked my
wife and me about posting a picture on social media," Murthy said.
"Because her classmates had been talking about it. This is in preschool.
So kids are getting exposed to this. We have 40% of kids ages 8 through 12
who are on social media. So this is coming to our kids earlier and
earlier."
Social media is designed to keep users on the site
The surgeon general also said he is concerned about the pressure that
parents face in battling their children's exposure to social media.
The entire burden of managing this has been placed on the shoulders of
parents, and that is simply not fair," Murthy said. "And they are pitted
against the best product engineers in the world who are using the most
cutting-edge brain science to ultimately maximize the amount of time
people are spending on these social media platforms. So that is the
definition of an unfair fight.
Parents need Kids Off Social Media Act:How a government ban would help
Murthy told me that his motivation to stand up against the growing risks
of social media and its ties to Americas mental health crisis came from
talking to parents and their kids across the country.
They kept saying, is this safe for my kids to use?" he said. "And it was
ultimately those conversations that made me say, you know what, we know
that theres growing evidence of an association between social media use
and harm."
I asked the surgeon general what a digital warning label would look like.
He said that different sizes and fonts and graphics will have to be tested
to see what works best, but that the message that a warning label should
convey is that we now have evidence that shows us that social media use
may be associated with mental health harm for adolescents."
Social media bullies and hateful trolls:A surgeon general's warning on
social media might look like this BEYOND HERE BE MONSTERS!
Status quo of social media isn't acceptable
When it comes to public safety, Murthy said that we cant just accept the
status quo, any more than we have with cigarettes, alcohol or car
accidents.
Yet, it will be a prodigious fight against a powerful adversary.
These platforms are highly sophisticated, theyve been around and have
evolved over a number of years now, but when whats at stake is nothing
less than the mental health and well-being of our kids, and we owe it to
them as a society to do everything we can." Murthy said. "I think of what
I would do as a parent if my child was in danger, and I would do what most
parents would do, which is pull out every single stop to make sure that
they were safe.
"Well, Im telling you right now that millions of children in our country
are experiencing this huge mental health crisis. Their well-being and in
some cases their lives are in danger. Are we willing as a country to pull
out the stops, to do everything we need to do, to protect them, to
safeguard them?"
Dr. Marc Siegel is a professor of medicine and medical director of Doctor
Radio at New York University's Langone Health. His latest book is "COVID:
the Politics of Fear and the Power of Science." Follow him on Twitter:
@DrMarcSiegel
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2024/06/21/surgeon-general-warning-
social-media-kids-mental-health/74139280007/
is hazardous to your health. Terry's pronouncement led Congress to
institute the warning labels that are on cigarette packages to this day.
It also helped lead to a dramatic decrease in cigarette use, saving
millions of lives.
In that same spirit, current Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an
advisory last year about the effect that social media has on youth mental
health. This week, he urged Congress to require that digital warnings be
attached to social media platforms.
I spoke with Dr. Murthy this week on Doctor Radio on SiriusXM about his
efforts. He said his concerns resonate with his own experience and worries
as a parent.
My kids are of an age, 6 and 7, where they are not on social media yet,
but when my daughter was in preschool she came home one day and asked my
wife and me about posting a picture on social media," Murthy said.
"Because her classmates had been talking about it. This is in preschool.
So kids are getting exposed to this. We have 40% of kids ages 8 through 12
who are on social media. So this is coming to our kids earlier and
earlier."
Social media is designed to keep users on the site
The surgeon general also said he is concerned about the pressure that
parents face in battling their children's exposure to social media.
The entire burden of managing this has been placed on the shoulders of
parents, and that is simply not fair," Murthy said. "And they are pitted
against the best product engineers in the world who are using the most
cutting-edge brain science to ultimately maximize the amount of time
people are spending on these social media platforms. So that is the
definition of an unfair fight.
Parents need Kids Off Social Media Act:How a government ban would help
Murthy told me that his motivation to stand up against the growing risks
of social media and its ties to Americas mental health crisis came from
talking to parents and their kids across the country.
They kept saying, is this safe for my kids to use?" he said. "And it was
ultimately those conversations that made me say, you know what, we know
that theres growing evidence of an association between social media use
and harm."
I asked the surgeon general what a digital warning label would look like.
He said that different sizes and fonts and graphics will have to be tested
to see what works best, but that the message that a warning label should
convey is that we now have evidence that shows us that social media use
may be associated with mental health harm for adolescents."
Social media bullies and hateful trolls:A surgeon general's warning on
social media might look like this BEYOND HERE BE MONSTERS!
Status quo of social media isn't acceptable
When it comes to public safety, Murthy said that we cant just accept the
status quo, any more than we have with cigarettes, alcohol or car
accidents.
Yet, it will be a prodigious fight against a powerful adversary.
These platforms are highly sophisticated, theyve been around and have
evolved over a number of years now, but when whats at stake is nothing
less than the mental health and well-being of our kids, and we owe it to
them as a society to do everything we can." Murthy said. "I think of what
I would do as a parent if my child was in danger, and I would do what most
parents would do, which is pull out every single stop to make sure that
they were safe.
"Well, Im telling you right now that millions of children in our country
are experiencing this huge mental health crisis. Their well-being and in
some cases their lives are in danger. Are we willing as a country to pull
out the stops, to do everything we need to do, to protect them, to
safeguard them?"
Dr. Marc Siegel is a professor of medicine and medical director of Doctor
Radio at New York University's Langone Health. His latest book is "COVID:
the Politics of Fear and the Power of Science." Follow him on Twitter:
@DrMarcSiegel
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2024/06/21/surgeon-general-warning-
social-media-kids-mental-health/74139280007/