The U.S. Surgeon General has proposed adding warning labels to social media platforms, similar to the ones found on cigarettes and alcohol. This proposal comes in response to growing concerns about the harmful effects of social media on children, including cyberbullying, grooming, eating disorders, sextortion, and addictive behavior.
In an interview with Titiana Jordan, the Chief Parenting Officer of Bark Technologies, she expressed her support for the proposed warning labels, stating that they are a step in the right direction.
“All of the worst issues that affect humans are exacerbated on social media,” Jordan said. “And the most susceptible to these issues are children. So again, I can’t believe we don’t have that warning yet.”
Jordan believes that the abundance of data on the negative impacts of social media on children makes it clear that action is needed. She is confident that warning labels can be effective in reducing the risks associated with social media use.
“If there’s a pervasive warning from the Surgeon General you have to pay attention to that,” Jordan said. “It removes social media companies to say, ‘Well we don’t have enough data yet.’ Well, we do have enough data and it is clear.”
“We saw these warnings work to reduce tobacco use and in other instances. We see that these work. So I’m very confident that this will help. It’s just a matter of if and when it rolls out.”
Surgeon General Murthy has also called for additional measures to protect children online, such as restricting push notifications, autoplay features, and infinite scrolling. He advocates for schools to limit phone usage and encourages parents to delay their children's access to social media until after middle school.
However, implementing warning labels on social media platforms would require an act of Congress and although there have been proposed bills at the state and federal level, nothing has passed or even made it to the floor for debate.
Jordan says any warnings from the Surgeon General would be a help and has some idea of how a warning could be implemented.
“It could be a popup every time you open the app but that will be a little bit aggressive and I think the social media lobbying entities will fight that very hard. It could be when you go to the app stores to download the app there’s a disclaimer.”
Jordan emphasizes the importance of parental awareness and action, urging parents to monitor and limit their children's social media use. She advises parents not to be afraid to set boundaries and to remember that if a child is young enough to need a babysitter, they are too young for social media.
Currently, there are two bills in Congress addressing new rules to protect children online, but neither has reached the floor for a vote. The debate continues as to whether warning labels and other proposed measures will be effective in mitigating the risks associated with social media use among young people.
