'Time for warning labels on social media platforms,' say doctors

US Surgeon General Dr Vivek H Murthy warned that 'adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media face double the risk of anxiety and depression symptoms'.

Warnings should be slapped on social media in the same way dangers of tobacco-smoking are highlighted, doctors in Ireland and America have urged.

The US Surgeon General Dr Vivek H Murthy warned social media is an “important contributor” to the mental health crisis facing teens.

“Adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media face 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 warned.

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

Writing in The New York Times, he recommended: “It is time to require a surgeon general’s warning label on social media platforms, stating that social media is associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents.” 

It would “regularly remind parents and adolescents that social media has not been proved safe”.

He added that evidence from tobacco studies show warning labels can change behaviour.

IMO warning

The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) on Wednesday called for urgent action to tackle the threat from social media to the health of young people.

This follows doctors at the IMO conference in April voting for a “well-funded public health strategy” to combat social media addiction, use and harm on the lines of the tobacco free policy.

Professor Matthew Sadlier, IMO consultant committee chair, called for the urgency from America to be felt here.

“The move by the US Surgeon General has profound significance and it reflects the absolute confidence which is now evident across the medical community internationally that these social media platforms present a real danger to users, especially young users,” he said.

He called on social media companies to “prove safety before launching new products and innovations” instead of governments retrospectively looking for harm.

“Our children will only have one childhood and we need to ensure that it is a safe one,” he urged.

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The IMO also passed a motion calling for a ban on smartphone use by primary school pupils.

They voted too for the attorney general and department of Justice to investigate the possibility of taking legal action against Meta – owner of Facebook and Instagram – on their products’ “detrimental effect on youth mental health”.