“US Chief Medical Officer Issues Rare Warning on Harmful Effects of Social Media on Children’s Mental Health”

It’s a “rare warning” and particularly severe, underline The New York Times. In a 19-page official report published on May 23, the Chief Medical Officer of the United States, Vivek Murthy, warns that social networks can have “extremely harmful effects on the mental health of children and adolescents”.

In addition to this warning, the report contains “practical recommendations for families”, notes the American daily, so that parents can better regulate and guide their children in their use of social networks and applications such as TikTok, Instagram or YouTube.

The US Chief Medical Officer is also urging tech giants to act so that “the age limits for registering on social networks are finally respected and so that parameters are created to better protect the privacy of the youngest”, explains the daily.

They are not “just little adults”

“Adolescents are not just small adults, they are in a different phase of their development and in a critical phase of their brain development”, made a point of pointing out the chief medical officer in an interview, adding that social networks expose them to “extreme, inappropriate and harmful content”.

Using data from the Pew Research Center, the New York daily stresses that “up to 95% of young Americans aged 13 to 17 say they use at least one social network, of which a third use it almost constantly”.

However, studies have established a link between the use of social networks and the appearance of depressive and suicidal symptoms in the youngest, and in particular young girls. By pushing adolescents to compare themselves, social networks undermine their self-esteem, they also promote online harassment.

In the wake of the report’s release, the White House announced the creation of a new task force dedicated to social media and how it affects minors, reports the site Politico.

This group, placed under the leadership of the Ministries of Health and Trade, will be “responsible for reviewing the measures taken by tech giants to take into account the health and safety of users and to recommend recommendations by spring 2024 to further improve guarantees of safety and respect for life deprived of children, notes the news site.