Opinion | The author's opinion does not necessarily reflect Sarah Palin's view.
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy advocated for mandatory mental health warnings on social media platforms, emphasizing the detrimental impact on young individuals.
He proposed a surgeon general’s warning label to address mental health risks associated with social media, citing the effectiveness of warning labels in changing behavior.
“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. A surgeon general’s warning label, which requires congressional action, would regularly remind parents and adolescents that social media has not been proved safe,” Murthy wrote.
“Evidence from tobacco studies show that warning labels can increase awareness and change behavior. When asked if a warning from the surgeon general would prompt them to limit or monitor their children’s social media use, 76 percent of people in one recent survey of Latino parents said yes,” he added.
Murthy called for legislative measures to shield young users from harmful content, limit data collection, and regulate features that exacerbate excessive platform usage.
“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. 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,” he wrote.
He highlighted the mental health crisis among adolescents linked to social media use and stressed the need for data transparency and collaboration with independent scientists.
Murthy asserted that addressing the mental health emergency requires a combination of warnings, legislation, and data transparency initiatives.
“The mental health crisis among young people is an emergency — and social media has emerged as an important contributor. Adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media face double the risk of anxiety and depression symptoms, and the average daily use in this age group, as of the summer of 2023, was 4.8 hours. Additionally, nearly half of adolescents say social media makes them feel worse about their bodies,” he wrote.
