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US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy wants Congress to create and pass legislation that would force social media firms like Meta, X/Twitter, TikTok, and Snap to add some type of digital "warning label" to their apps and websites that caution young users by stating the potential negative impacts social media can have on their mental health.
"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," Murthy writes in an op-ed column for The New York Times Monday.
Murthy also wants social media companies to be forced to report all health impact data publicly and share it with independent scientists to increase transparency around the issue.
"Social media has not been proved safe," Murthy says, adding that similar labels that have been required on all tobacco products since 1965 have helped change user behavior. A label wouldn't ban social media apps or platforms, but could help people make more informed choices about their daily habits. In his essay, Murthy compares digital health risks to real-world ones and argues that social media lacks "adequate safety measures, transparency or accountability."
What could a social media warning label look like? On the web, the warning could appear as a pop-up message, like web cookies selection pop-ups, that includes information about social media's potential impacts on mental health. On app stores, it could be included in an app's description, or appear in fine print on an app's loading screen on launch.
While some parents or social media users might welcome this information, others could find the reminders annoying or view them as unnecessary. If such warning labels were required by law, however, it's unclear how such label inclusion would be enforced—and which apps would be considered "social media" under the rules.
Social media platforms have faced some scrutiny this year, from getting grilled at regulator hearings to the looming TikTok ban President Biden has signed. TikTok has already filed its lawsuit to fight the ban, however, so the fate of the video-sharing app remains unclear. Two recently passed social media bills in New York state aim to restrict child access to "addictive feeds" and better protect their personal data, respectively.
For those who want to reduce their social media screentime or avoid it entirely, there are some options. There are timed phone lock boxes and apps that can block social media apps from being opened at certain times. There's also phones like the Light Phone III, which can't install social media apps at all and offers a stripped-down version of the smartphone experience.