New York City Mayor Eric Adams has recently labeled social media as a “public health hazard” and an “environmental toxin,” underscoring the importance of protecting young people from online risks.
During his State of the City address, Adams announced that Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan has issued an advisory officially designating social media as a public health threat in New York City.
The advisory from the city draws attention to the declining mental health of New York’s youth over the past decade. It references 2021 data showing that 77% of the city’s high school students spent over three hours each day on screens, excluding homework time.
Adams singled out platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook, accusing them of contributing to a mental health crisis in youth due to their addictive and potentially harmful design.
“We’re pioneering this effort as the first major city in the U.S. to recognize and confront the dangers of social media,” Adams stated. He compared this initiative to historical public health warnings about tobacco and firearms, urging tech companies to take responsibility for their products.
In May 2023, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a warning about the severe risks associated with excessive social media use on young people’s mental health.
The advisory recognized both the positive and negative effects of social media on young individuals. Pew Research found that 59% of teenagers felt more socially accepted thanks to social media. However, the advisory noted the lack of extensive research and data to confirm the overall safety of social media for adolescents.
Murthy expressed concerns about the safety of social media for children, noting the absence of conclusive evidence regarding its safety and pointing to evidence of harm in many instances.
Describing children as unintentional participants in a long-term social experiment, Murthy emphasized the need for immediate action based on the current understanding of social media’s impact on youth health and wellbeing.
In response to Murthy’s advisory, Meta (the parent company of Facebook and Instagram) recognized the complexity of mental health issues and cited other contributing factors, including limited healthcare access, the pandemic, and academic pressures.
YouTube officials reported their efforts to safeguard young users through digital wellbeing features, removing dangerous content, and pursuing further research collaborations.
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A TikTok spokesperson highlighted their measures for enhancing youth mental health, such as implementing bedtime reminders, age restrictions, and making a public data interface available to researchers in the U.S.
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