Children’s Social Media Use a Major Stressor for Parents, Surgeon General Advisory Says
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The U.S. Surgeon General has released a new advisory on the mental health and well-being of parents, with the impact of social media on their children front and center. The advisory, which calls attention to parental stress, included information on emerging concerns that are playing an increased role in parenting.
“There are new stressors that previous generations didn’t have to consider,” Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said in the advisory foreword. “These include the complexity of managing social media, parents’ concerns about the youth mental health crisis, and an epidemic of loneliness that disproportionately affects young people and parents, just to name a few.”
Included in the advisory is data from a Pew Research Center study which found that 66% of parents in the U.S. say that parenting is more difficult now than it was 20 years ago. The surveyed parents cited children’s use of technology and social media as the top two reasons for this shift.
The advisory also noted significant concerns among parents surrounding the impact that social media is having on their children’s lives. 53% of parents are worried that their child’s use of social media could lead to anxiety or depression, with 54% of parents worried it could lead to low self-esteem, harassment or bullying.
In recent years, there has been an increased focus on the mental health impact that social media may have, especially on children. Hundreds of lawsuits are pending in multidistrict litigation over claims that major social media platforms have caused serious mental health issues.
Surgeon General Had Previously Proposed Social Media Warning Labels
This is not the first time in recent months that the surgeon general has called attention to concerns surrounding social media and its possible ties to mental health issues.
In June, Murthy proposed adding warning labels to social media apps, similar to what consumers are used to on products like alcohol or tobacco.
“Evidence from tobacco studies show that warning labels can increase awareness and change behavior,” he said in a New York Times op-ed. “When asked if a warning from the surgeon general would prompt them to limit or monitor their children’s social media use, 76 percent of people in one recent survey of Latino parents said yes.”
Congressional action is required to approve a surgeon general’s warning label, so the addition of this to social media platforms is unlikely to be imminent.
Social Media Lawsuits Claim Harmful Mental Health Impacts
There are over 500 social media lawsuits currently pending in a California MDL.
According to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, lawsuits claim that extensive social media use has resulted in emotional harm, physical harm and even death in adolescents.
Lawsuits also claim this is due to social media platforms’ efforts to maximize screen time and encourage addictive behavior.
Defendants include the companies behind popular apps like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. According to a 2022 Pew Research Center study, 67% of U.S. teens have used TikTok, 62% have used Instagram and 32% have used Facebook.
Editor Lindsay Donaldson contributed to this article.