The US’ top doctor has called for far tighter rules around social media to protect children’s physical and mental health.
While, Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy, the current surgeon general, conceded that social media could provide some benefits for young people, such as “providing positive community and connection with others who share identities, abilities, and interests” as well as creating a ground for self-expression, they were outweighed by the downsides of social media.
In a report, the surgeon general said that social media platforms’ thirst for engagement could encourage excessive use and behavioural dysregulation. Push notifications, autoplay, infinite scroll, quantifying and displaying popularity (i.e., ‘likes’), and algorithmic content recommendations were all cited mechanisms that cause harm.
These tactics have been linked to sleep and attention problems and feelings of exhaustion among teenagers. The surgeon general also said that problematic use of social media has been linked to self-reported and diagnosed ADHD.
In response, and noting that the US has a strong history of taking action to protect children in toys, transportation, and medications (though notably not firearms), the surgeon general proposed a sweeping set of changes.
First among the recommendations was the development of “age-appropriate health and safety standards. The surgeon general said it was important to design appropriate and safe technology for a child’s developmental stage, protecting children and adolescents from accessing harmful content and limiting features designed to maximise engagement.
A higher level of data privacy for children was also recommended as six-in-ten adolescents say they have little to no control over their personal information.
Tech companies, meanwhile, were instructed to conduct and facilitate transparent and independent assessments of the impact of social media products and services on children and assume responsibility for the impacts of their products on children.
They were also told to create “effective and timely” systems to manage complaints about online abuse, harmful content and interactions and other threats to children’s safety. The surgeon general added that “social media platforms should take these complaints seriously, thoroughly investigate and consider them, and respond in a timely and transparent manner.”
The large social media platforms would, of course, counter that they have a range of tools in place to protect children from harmful interactions and content. However, the surgeon general’s points around methods to display popularity and the developmental effects on children are new. Whether the social media companies take the recommendations seriously without the threat of legislation or regulation remains to be seen.
