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The day is rapidly approaching when warning labels may be coming to social media. As soon as you pop open your Facebook, Instagram or X app, you’ll be subjected to the same type of messaging they put on alcohol and cigarettes. Something along the lines of: “Danger: Using This Product Could Be Dangerous For Your Health. Not Recommended For Users Under the Age of 18.”
Maybe that’s being overly dramatic, but something very substantial appears to have shifted in the cultural zeitgeist ever since the U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy penned an op-ed for the New York Times, warning of all the potential negative effects of using social media for young users. These included everything from emotional and mental side-effects to physical ailments. No wonder, then, that 42 state attorneys general are now calling for a Surgeon General’s warning to be placed on social media.
“Generational harm” to young people everywhere
At stake, say these officials, is the mental and emotional health of an entire generation. As they see it, the algorithms used by social media platforms threaten the safety of our nation’s youth. The addictive nature of these algorithms guarantees that users become hooked on the platforms. For social media companies, these algorithms are the key to pumping up engagement and bringing in more ad revenue, so it’s all about the money.
But here’s the thing: How do you place a warning label on a virtual product? At best, you’ll get something like the situation now, when every website you visit displays annoying pop-ups, asking you if you’d like cookies with your internet browsing experience. How many people really take the time to read the fine print? If you’re like most people, you probably instinctively hit the first button you see, hoping to get out of the nightmare maze of cookie pop-ups.
Unlike a product such as cigarettes or tobacco, there’s no physical substance involved with social media that has been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt to cause addiction. With cigarettes, there’s nicotine, so it’s very easy to find any product that has nicotine in it, and place a warning label on it. But what about social media? Here, the “physical substance” is really the algorithm.
However, it’s not necessarily the case that every social media platform you use is addictive in a negative way. Maybe Instagram or TikTok are highly addictive, but what about LinkedIn? You could argue that the algorithm at the core of LinkedIn actually is there to help you, especially if you are looking for a career change or new job opportunity. The better the algorithm is at finding out things about you, the more likely it is to display your dream job.
The social media companies fight back
So, as might be expected, the titans of Silicon Valley are looking for ways to avoid the burden of a Surgeon General’s warning. The tech lobbyists, too, are out in force, looking for potential cracks in any legal or regulatory logic. You can be sure that they will find some kind of First Amendment loophole to stop any pending legislation or enforcement action in its tracks.
Remember, too, that a Surgeon General’s warning of any kind requires Congressional action to make it a reality. But are we really going to let the future of social media be determined by hundreds of aging politicians, many of whom have probably never been power users of any social media platform ever in their lives? During many Congressional hearings, the questions being asked show a real lack of understanding of how the internet really works.
So, even though the state attorneys general say they have wide, bipartisan support for a warning label of some kind, this is the same thing that people have said about every piece of pending social media legislation that has ever made it to the floor of Congress for a vote. So, no, I’m not holding my breath, thinking that a warning label is ever going to happen. However, it will help to raise awareness of the potential pitfalls of social media, and that’s a positive step forward.
