A Possible Downside to Limits on Teens’ Access to Social Media

In 1982, then-Surgeon General C. Everett Koop warned that video games might be hazardous to young people’s health, a statement he later walked back, acknowledging it had no basis in science.

These days, state and federal policymakers are sounding alarms about the need to protect children from the harmful effects of social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.

In June, Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy called for warning labels — like the ones on cigarettes and alcohol — on social media platforms to alert users that the platforms can harm children’s mental health. The move would require congressional action.

Separately, the Senate approved the bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act and a companion bill, the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act, on July 30. And at least 30 states have pending legislation relating to children and social media — including age bans, parental consent requirements, and new digital and media literacy courses for K-12 students — again with a focus on protecting children’s mental well-being.

Some studies have established only an association between social media use and mental health outcomes. But there are no scientific studies yet that establish a causal relationship between social media use and anxiety, depression or other adverse mental health effects, says the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine and others.

The emphasis on harm risks overlooking social media’s potential benefits, said Linda Charmaraman, a research scientist and director of the Youth, Media & Wellbeing Research Lab at Wellesley Centers for Women.

Charmaraman has published studies showing that for some adolescents who do not see themselves represented broadly in society, especially those who are LGBTQ+ or racial or ethnic minorities, social media can help them connect with others.

“If you’re taking away something that could be a lifesaver for somebody by reducing loneliness and isolation, that could be doing more harm than good,” Charmaraman said.

“It would make a much more long-lasting impact if the surgeon general would talk about prevention and knowledge and education rather than, ‘There’s this bad product, and we need to warn you,’” she said.

Some research suggests algorithmically driven content can distort reality and spread misinformation; incessant notifications distract attention and disrupt sleep; and the anonymity that sites offer can embolden cyberbullies. And there is research that associates social media use and anxiety and depression.

But much of social media’s effect can depend on the content children consume, said Jenny Radesky, a pediatrician and co-director of the American Academy of Pediatrics Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health.

Radesky said she favors Murthy’s call for warning labels.

“He’s really just asking families to tap the brakes and ask, ‘Is this what my kids need right now?’” she said.

Like her peers and the National Academies, Radesky believes more research is needed to establish a causal effect between social media use and negative youth mental health, particularly for those children whose moods correlate with their use of the platforms.

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