A new advisory from U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warns that social media may pose a real threat to kids’ health. The advisory calls for more research to better understand how endless scrolling among children could be contributing to the youth mental health crisis. It cites studies that found a relationship between social media consumption and mental health issues like depression and anxiety, as well as concerns that scrolling can stimulate brain activity similar to other types of addiction. The advisory also describes social media use among youth as near-universal, even for younger kids. “The bottom line is we do not have enough evidence to conclude that social media is sufficiently safe for our kids,” Murthy wrote in a Washington Postop-ed accompanying the advisory. “In light of the ongoing youth mental health crisis, it is no longer possible to ignore social media’s potential contribution to the pain that millions of children and families are experiencing.”
