U.S. Surgeon General Sounds the Alarm Against Social Media Use for Adolescents

U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, has emerged as one of the leading voices in warning parents of the dangers of social media for kids.

His May 2023 warning, which explicitly stated that 13-year-olds are too young to join social media, supplemented a previous 2021 social media advisory. Now, Dr. Murthy is urging Congress to pass legislation requiring social media platforms to feature a warning about the harm they pose to teens’ mental health.

Warning Label on Social Media

In an op-ed published by The New York Times, Dr. Murthy explains, “One of the most important lessons I learned in medical school was that in an emergency, you don’t have the luxury to wait for perfect information…. The mental health crisis among young people is an emergency — and social media has emerged as an important contributor.”

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.

—Dr. Vivek Murthy, United States Surgeon General

Perhaps the most well-known example of a surgeon general warning are those required on tobacco products starting in 1965. Murthy makes direct reference to the success of tobacco labels in “increasing awareness and changing behavior” and suggests that requiring labels on social media could accomplish similar results.

Social Media Causes Harm

The repeated advisories amplify a now-large body of research showing that social media has the potential to cause serious harm to adolescents. For example, kids who spend three or more hours per day on social media have double the risk of anxiety and depression symptoms. This is particularly concerning given the average adolescent spends 4.8 hours on social media every day.

While experts have been tracking a connection between social media use and declining mental health among kids, it is only recently that some have been willing to claim a causal relationship. In his best-selling book, “The Anxious Generation,” Jonathan Haidt makes exactly that claim: “Social media use is a cause of anxiety, depression, and other ailments, not just a correlate.”

Social media does offer benefits, including the potential to make connections, find acceptance, and express creativity. But the severity of poor mental health outcomes now being connected to social media use heavily outweigh those benefits. In Dr. Murthy’s May 2023 advisory, he urges social media companies to join in the project of protecting children from the dangers of social media.

More Awareness and Action

The Surgeon General’s repeated warnings have become interwoven with headlines about ongoing legal battles being mounted against social media platforms. Dr. Murthy’s 2023 statement came amid an announcement that TikTok’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew, would testify before Congress in March of 2023

At the March 2023 congressional hearing, Chew sat through over five hours of accusations from lawmakers including that TikTok promotes harmful content to kids. Although little was accomplished — other than learning TikTok spent more than $1.5 billion on data security efforts that year — many saw this as a pivotal moment. It opened up many eyes to the actual dangers caused by social media and ignited a fire to come up with solutions to protect our youth.

Since then, several bipartisan bills aimed at stopping the online exploitation of children have been in the works. In January of 2024, the CEOs of Meta, X, TikTok, Snap, and Discord testified before a U.S. Senate committee about their efforts to combat child sexual exploitation and the dissemination of child sexual abuse material on their platforms. Some CEOs even acknowledged specific bills and agreed to support them. 

In March, 2024, Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida signed a bill prohibiting kids under 14 from having any social media accounts. In April, President Biden signed a law threatening to ban TikTok from the U.S., unless it’s sold within a year. Additionally, the Kids Online Safety Act bipartisan senate bill calls for more duty of care imposed on social media apps.

There has been pushback and opposition to each attempt to reign in social media platforms. This is to be expected, as we all have different views and ideas of what will or will not work. But it’s promising to see so much movement and concern in this area today. Ultimately the end goal is simply to protect our kids and give them a healthy childhood.

What Can We Do?

The surgeon general offers several recommendations for how young people, families, and community leaders can make a difference.

Kids

• Talk to an adult and ask for help when you’re uncomfortable with something you witness online
• Invest in healthy relationships by building friendships with those you can see in person
• Serve others and use your time and talents to help those around

Parents & Caregivers

• Be a role model by caring for your own mental and physical health
• Provide a safe, stable environment that fosters open communication
• Look for warning signs of distress — irritability, withdrawal, increased sadness, decreased motivation

Community Leaders

• Educate the public about mental health
• Implement evidence-based programs to promote healthy development

Connecting Safely

The dangers of social media should not be ignored but that does not mean technology should be feared. The benefits of tech innovation can be harnessed without exposing kids to all the risks. By approaching tech gradually and intentionally, and considering safe devices, we can allow kids to learn and take advantage of the best aspects of technology without exposing them to the worst.

What do you think? Do you think social media warning labels would make a difference? Does Dr. Murthy’s voice change your opinion on social media?