Surgeon general demands warning label on social media apps

The like button is making parents rethink what the ideal age is to introduce phones and social media access to their children. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy told CNN that the threat social media poses to children requires urgent action, and he demanded Congress, in the US to put a label on the apps as it does with cigarettes and alcohol.

“The mental health crisis among young people is urgent, and social media has become a significant contributing factor,” Murthy said in an opinion piece published in the New York Times on Monday.

Murthy referenced several studies, including one published in JAMA by the American Medical Association in 2019, which revealed that teenagers who spend three hours a day on social media double their risk of depression. According to a Gallup poll, teenagers spend nearly five hours a day on social media apps.

In an interview with CNN’s Meg Tirrell, Murthy highlighted that the prevalence of social media use among children exceeds 95%, making it nearly ubiquitous.

However, Murthy emphasized that he lacks the authority to unilaterally place warning labels on apps — this would require action from Congress, whom Murthy implored to pass legislation on the matter.