ABC News Equates Social Media Use to Tobacco Addiction
By Movieguide® Contributor
ABC News compared social media use to the dangers of smoking following U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s recent advisory about social media and mental health.
“Our children have become unknowing participants in a decades-long experiment,” Murthy told ABC News. “And while there is more we have to learn about the full impact of social media use on their health and well-being, we know enough now to take action and protect our kids.”
“With 95% of teens between the ages of 13 and 17 using social media, Murthy’s advisory quickly drew comparisons by some observers to a 1964 Surgeon General Report that highlighted the dangers of another common activity: smoking,” ABC reported.
“At the time, more than 40 percent of adults smoked regularly, according to CDC data. Others see comparisons to the tobacco industry’s responses to public health concerns,” ABC added.
Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, did not directly acknowledge the evidence of adverse social media use effects. Instead, it highlighted issues like COVID and pressures that adolescents may face elsewhere.
“‘I see very much the same tactics of an industry that is diverting attention from its own actions,’ said Matthew Myers, who founded the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, pointing to how some social media companies have challenged regulation and disavowed responsibility,” ABC wrote.
Murthy’s advisory lists many issues that result from social media use. For adolescents, it can result in depression, eating disorders, body image perception, sleep difficulties and duration, major consumption of time and mental health issues from viewing harmful content.
The advisory notes, “One-third or more of girls aged 11-15 say they feel ‘addicted’ to certain social media platforms and over half of teenagers report that it would be hard to give up social media.”
In 2018, Salesforce’s CEO, Marc Benioff, also likened social media use to a public health crisis. He said that Facebook should be regulated in the same way that cigarettes are.
Movieguide® previously reported Murthy’s comments about what age is appropriate for young social media users:
‘I, personally, based on the data I’ve seen, believe that 13 is too early, it’s a time where it’s really important for us to be thoughtful about what’s going into how they think about their own self-worth and their relationships and the skewed and often distorted environment of social media often does a disservice to many of those children,’ Murthy said.
Many large social media platforms such as Meta and Twitter currently allow users to join their platforms at the age of 13. With little regulation when it comes to age.
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