Surgeon general: Social media should come with a warning label like cigarettes

• Dr. Vivek Murthy said social media was contributing to a mental-health "emergency."
• He's calling for a surgeon general's warning label, which would require congressional action.

The US surgeon general says social media should come with a warning label — similar to the ones that appear on cigarette packs.

In an op-ed for The New York Times, Dr. Vivek Murthy said social media was contributing to an "emergency" mental-health crisis for young people, with increasing anxiety and depression symptoms and adolescents feeling worse about their bodies.

The surgeon general's warning label would say that social media is "associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents," Murthy wrote, noting that such a label would require congressional action.

Studies have found that tobacco warning labels can be effective, he wrote in the Times.

Murthy — the nation's top doctor who previously served in the Obama administration and has crusaded against an American loneliness epidemic — issued a separate advisory last year in which he urged policy changes.

The American Psychological Association has issued its own advisories about social-media use among teens, saying it's not "inherently beneficial or harmful to young people" — with their "pre-existing strengths or vulnerabilities" also playing a role in mental-health outcomes.

While there can be benefits, younger brains tend to be more invested in "personalized feedback, praise, or attention from peers," the organization says, and have underdeveloped impulse control.

"Policies will not protect youth unless technology companies are required to reduce the risks embedded within the platforms themselves," the APA says.

The legislation Murthy outlined would protect young people from online harassment and abuse, prevent data collection from kids, and restrict features like push notifications, autoplay, and infinite scrolling.

These changes "remain the priority" over labeling, Murthy wrote.

Murthy added in his op-ed that social-media platforms "must be required to share all of their data on health effects with independent scientists and the public" for safety audits and urged parents not to let their children access social media until after middle school.

"The moral test of any society," he said, "is how well it protects its children."