‘Now is the time to act’: Urgent calls for social media reform

A top US doctor is pushing for a tobacco-style “warning label” on social media platforms to help protect the mental health of young kids.

US Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy has announced his intention to push for a “warning label” on social media platforms.

The warning label would advise parents that using these social media platforms could be damaging to the mental health of children and teens.

It comes as News Corp has launched its Let Them Be Kids campaign, along with parents from across Australia and experts in mental health, child advocacy, and child protection. The campaign is calling on the federal government to raise the age limit to access social media to 16.

Dr Murthy requires approval by Congress for the warning label to be actioned.

Dr. Vivek Murthy wants to insert warning labels on social media platforms. Picture: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AFP

In his opinion essay for The New York Times, the Surgeon General wrote the warning label “would regularly remind parents and adolescents that social media has not been proved safe”.

He warned that social media was driving a youth mental health crisis.

“Why is it that we have failed to respond to the harms of social media when they are no less urgent or widespread than those posed by unsafe cars, planes or food? These harms are not a failure of willpower and parenting; they are the consequence of unleashing powerful technology without adequate safety measures, transparency or accountability,” Dr Murthy wrote.

News Corp and Australian parents are calling on the federal government to raise the age limit at which children can access social media to 16 as part of a national campaign, Let Them Be Kids, to stop the scourge of social media.

Let Them Be Kids: SIGN THE PETITION

Social media is used by 95 per cent of Americans aged 13 to 17 and nearly 40 per cent of those aged 8 to 12, even though 13 is the minimum age under federal law. Most adolescents are online at least three hours a day, which doubles their risk of suffering depression and anxiety.

“Adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media fae 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,” he wrote.

“Additionally, nearly half of adolescents say social media makes them feel worse about their bodies.”

Nearly half of young teens say social media makes them feel worse about their bodies. Picture: iStock

While Dr Murthy says there is evidence from tobacco studies showing that warning labels can increase awareness and change behaviour, it would not “on its own, make social media safe for young people”.

He believes there must be policies in place by the government, with bipartisan support, as well as legislation from Congress. Additionally, the social media organisations would be required to share “all of their data on health effects” and allow safety audits.

Society itself - including schools, parents, public health leaders and young people - would need to enact change, Dr Murthy noted.

“Now is the time to summon the will to act,” he wrote in his oped.

“Our children’s wellbeing is at stake.”

Originally published as ‘Now is the time to act’: Urgent calls for social media reform