MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – United States Surgeon General Vivek Murthy is worried about the amount of children on social media and the amount of time they are spending on the platforms.
“When adolescents spend more than three hours a day on social media, we’re seeing an association with a doubling of risk of anxiety and depression symptoms,” Murthy said in an interview with NBC.
Statistics like that have led Murthy to call on Congress to do something. He suggests a mandated tobacco-style warning label to better warn users what they’re getting into.
“Keep in mind, when Congress authorized these labels for tobacco more than half a century ago or nearly half a century ago, smoking rate in America was above 40%. Today it’s under 12%, ” said Murthy
It’s not just mental health effects that officials are worried about. Dr. Wes Stubblefield with the Alabama Department of Public Health says symptoms can manifest themselves physically through effects like interrupted sleep. He also encourages parents to have proactive conversations with their kids about social media.
“Starting that conversation early, just talking about the negative effects of social media, talking about information and what’s out there, talking about what they could be feeling with negative feelings, positive feelings,” Stubblefield said.
Legislators are already attempting to take action on the matter. Earlier this year, the bipartisan Kids Off Social Media Act was introduced to Congress, which would ban those under 13 from social media platforms. Alabama U.S. Sen. Katie Britt is one of the bill’s sponsors.
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