Warning labels won't suffice: Teach kids healthy online habits
As long as teens find an emotional outlet in social media, mental health care risks will likely remain. Credit: Getty Images/George Chan
When the U.S. surgeon general in 2024 called for warning labels on social media platforms, it was a two-handed hammer punch to the alarm bell schools, health professionals and teens themselves had already been sounding: Social media saturation is exacerbating mental health issues wracking teens in every part of the country.
Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy warned that the mental health crisis tormenting teens is an emergency, and social media is “an important contributor.”
In response to this emergency, last year New York’s legislature passed, and Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law, legislation requiring social media platforms like TikTok and YouTube to warn teens about the dangers when first using the platform and again periodically during continued use. The legislation sought to highlight “predatory features” such as algorithmic feeds, autoplay and infinite scroll.
The state cites studies showing adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media suffer from anxiety and depression at twice the rate of their peers. Warning labels could help teens begin to self-assess and reduce the amount of time they spend on social media. Once the state’s mental health commissioner formulates the warning message, the state will set a date for the law to take effect.
A warning label alone won’t stop kids from oversharing personal information, having negative interactions, and accessing content that lures them into taking excessive risks. The state must fund educational campaigns to teach kids digital literacy and healthy online habits. That includes teaching kids about the dangers of overuse while providing models for better usage. As long as teens find an emotional outlet in social media, mental health risks will likely remain. Such programs will need to be well funded.
Last week what may be a landmark case blaming social media giants such as Google and Meta for deliberately addicting kids to their platforms got underway in Los Angeles. Thousands of similar cases are pending nationwide. TikTok and Snap Inc. already settled for undisclosed terms, according to The Associated Press. Also last week, a new rating system called Safe Online Standards for social media, gaming, and digital platforms design products had its debut with the major platforms agreeing to be evaluated.
That’s progress. In a short time, there has been more government regulation. Lawsuits seeking to hold these billion-dollar platforms responsible for the harm they may cause are proceeding and an independent rating system that can allow parents and advertisers to judge which platforms are safer for kids is underway. This will be a formidable challenge because warning labels on alcohol and gambling websites have not shown to be deterrents.
Our kids’ mental health is hurting. And social media is a big reason why. While parents play a major role in helping their families navigate the online space, they will need all the help they can get.
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