By: Hugo Calderon
A new advisory from the United States' top doctor warns that Social Media is likely bad for your health.
On Tuesday May 23, 2023 The United States Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, issued a rare public health advisory on the potential dangers and risks that social media has on kids. Many teens and children utilize social media constantly without knowing just how unsafe it is and how social media use is negatively affecting the health of children and teens. These negative impacts have detrimental effects on many kids and teens around the globe and must be taken into serious consideration in order to be prevented. Dr. Murthy is calling on many social media companies and parents to take immediate action to prevent any potential harm on children and teens.
But what exactly are the risks and harms that social media can have on kids? Studies conducted on kids that use social media platforms such as Instagram have shown that the constant use of social media can deplete the mental health of many kids. Projected peer pressure and “hyper-comparison” found on the app has led to mental health and body image problems among many kids who feel as if they must act or look similar to others on social media. This has led to the development of eating disorders and suicidal thoughts among teenagers. This has been reinforced with further evidence found in the LA Times that states that “13% of teen girls on social media have had thoughts of suicide” and “17% of teen girls saying that it makes eating disorders worse.”.
Many social media developers, such as Meta, the developers of Instagram and Facebook, are aware of the harms that their social media platforms have on kids that have access towards them. Meta sought to downplay the negative effects of its app though all in order to keep its app users. Other platforms such as TikTok have sought to take action by adding a 60 minute time limit for users younger than 18. Children and teens can easily evade this regulation though as they can simply enter a passcode to continue utilizing the app.
Overall, Social Media platforms are not enforcing their age restriction policies which is leading to many harms and risks on children. Dr. Murthy states that parents must set boundaries for their children when it comes to social media use and that they must make sure that their children are being safe when they are on social media platforms. With mainly teens being one of the main utilizers of social media they should also take responsibility and watch how long and often they use social media and what they use it for because in the end it is their own mental health that is in jeopardy. Social media can have some benefits - such as finding communities in which you can relate to - but it is important to remember that there is no guaranteed safety for children when it comes to social media use.