Ensuring Safety and Accountability in the Digital World

From the dominance of MySpace and Facebook to the virality of Instagram and TikTok, social media has steadily grown into a social and cultural phenomenon over the past two decades. Those who were adults at the time learned how to navigate social media use while maintaining healthy in-person social connections.

On the other hand, children and adolescents born in the last 20 years have been raised in a digital era with unprecedented access to social media and little understanding of how these technologies may affect their development.

As we witness increases in various mental health diagnoses among younger generations, some researchers and legislators have questioned whether social media use is responsible for increases in anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide among adolescents in the last decade. This awareness has raised the issue of warning labels on social media.

Amidst evidence that social media can have both a positive and negative impact on children and adolescents, US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy has expressed concern over social media’s role in the worsening mental health crisis in American children and teens.

In May 2023, Dr. Murthy published a 19-page advisory warning Americans about the potential “harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents.” The document included recommendations for parents to create boundaries around social media use and for tech companies to implement more stringent health and safety settings for children and teens.

The surgeon general’s advisory galvanized bipartisan efforts to curb teens’ and adolescents’ access to social media over the last year. In June 2024, Dr. Murthy advanced his position with an op-ed in The New York Times, calling on the federal government to support instituting warning labels on social media to “regularly remind parents and adolescents that social media has not been proved safe.”

Historical Context: Warning Labels and America’s Youth

In calling for social media safety warnings, Dr. Murthy supported his argument by alluding to the success of tobacco and alcohol warning labels instituted by surgeon generals before him, citing evidence that tobacco warning labels help “increase awareness and change behavior.”

In the 1960s, the federal government mandated warning labels on all cigarette packages, cautioning consumers that smoking may be hazardous to their health.

In the late ‘80s, the government required warning labels on all alcohol products, stating that alcohol consumption may cause congenital disabilities in pregnant women and impair one’s ability to drive.

Efforts like these led the way in informing future legislation and informing the masses about the danger of cigarettes and alcohol, particularly among those who are underage.

Consider teen pregnancy, cigarettes, and alcohol use in the ‘90s. At the time, these were the primary concerns for America’s youth. But in 2024, rates of sex, cigarette smoking, and alcohol use among high school-aged kids have dropped dramatically compared to the 1990s.

On the other hand, feelings of hospitalizations for mood and panic disorders, hopelessness, isolation, and thoughts of suicide have steadily increased since then.

These changes mark a shift in the challenges American teens and young adults face. Dr. Murthy’s perspective illustrates that, as a nation, we have overcome challenges in the past—like underage drinking and teen pregnancy—because of collective action that started with a warning.

Public awareness, government action, and warning labels on social media, he argues, may help curb today’s most pressing challenge: the mental health crisis among American adolescents.

Warning Labels on Social Media

Social media platforms like X, Instagram, and Facebook have previously incorporated warning labels and disclosures. In recent years, these platforms have begun flagging posts or content for misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 presidential election, and nationwide Black Lives Matter protests during the pandemic.

With artificial intelligence’s growing influence in digital content creation, warning disclosures for AI-generated images are cropping up on X, TikTok, and, more recently, Meta.

Meta platforms (Instagram and Facebook) also black out or hide posts that may contain sensitive or disturbing material unsuitable for users under 18, such as sexual or violent content.

TikTok also does this, but when the platform is brimming with underage users and multitudes of content to moderate (by humans and AI, both prone to error and bias), preventing harmful content from reaching vulnerable social media users is easier said than done. Not to mention, apps like TikTok and Instagram are designed to keep users scrolling and endlessly engaged, where they will eventually encounter age-inappropriate content.

In 2020, social media video-sharing platform TikTok implemented an influencer campaign of videos designed to encourage users to close the app and get off their phones if they’d been scrolling for a while, enabling them to be more mindful of their screen time.

Videos prompted users to “do something IRL (in real life),” while companies like Headspace and Calm placed sponsored ads asking users to take a few deep breaths or engage in brief meditation.

While gain-framed messaging like this indeed helps steer users towards more mindful screen time, many American teens and young adults understand that social media can be addictive. However, they may still struggle with excessive screen time and fall victim to the other harms social media may pose (social comparison, life dissatisfaction, body image issues).

The argument behind social media warning labels hinges on helping foster social literacy among users whose social and cognitive development is ongoing. But what would these warning labels look like?

Examples of Potential Warning Labels on Social Media

Most of the existing warning labels and content advisories on social media platforms typically appear in the form of blacked-out images with disclaimers asking users if they’d like to view the content or a message from the platform under the post warning that the content may not be human-generated, accurately portrayed, or entirely factual. However, Americans may expect government-mandated warning labels on social media platforms to appear more prominent or authoritative.

Fast Company consulted with four creative and digital design firms to conceptualize real-world examples of how social media platforms might incorporate warning labels if required by law. These mock-ups promise to be springboards for thoughtful “interventions that attempt to meet teens where they are without judgment.”

One company developed a variety of colorful and encouraging in-app TikTok banners and interventions centered around reaffirming users’ perception of the content they engage with.

In their design, when a user opens the comments section under a TikTok video, they receive a pop-up banner that says, “Your words have power, be respectful,” with a graphic of the word “kindness” illuminated and “hate” crossed out next to it.

Another group of designers devised an artistic, non-guilt-inducing way of encouraging teenagers on social media to take a break from the screens. Safe Scroll features an interactive fullscreen notification that cycles the words “Practice safe scroll” in bold, retro-shaped fonts over pastel-colored backgrounds.

Having the user scroll to minimize the notification (or accidentally close the app in the process) adds a degree of playfulness to curbing excessive screen time.

Other sample warning labels follow more traditional approaches to government-sanctioned health and safety advisories.

Fast Company featured a black and white TikTok push notification with the messaging, “SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Social Media Has Not Been Proved Safe. Reducing Your Social Media Usage Greatly Reduces Risks to Your Health” with different mental illness conditions and symptoms flashing boldly:

Potential Impact on User Behavior

These sample social media warning labels show promise in a variety of eye-catching and minimally disruptive ways to encourage young users to log off. However, some experts caution that government officials and app developers avoid loss-framed messaging in favor of gain-framed messaging.

Gain-framed messaging focuses more on what the user benefits from positive behavior, whereas loss-framed messaging highlights the harmful outcomes that result from negative behavior.

Teens faced with loss-framed messaging that purports all of the potential harm social media may have on their mental health may feel shamed or scolded for their social media use with little recourse other than logging off.

However, labels framed around the benefits a teen may see from more thoughtful screen time may more likely reinforce healthy social media habits.

Implementation and Enforcement of Warning Labels

Surgeon General Murthy’s article does not explain how the government would require or enforce warning labels for social media platforms, mainly because the more pressing question is whether Congress would support legislation mandating such labels.

Ultimately, the surgeon general relies on Congressional approval to mandate social media safety disclosures. However, his 2019 advisory and recent statements on the mental health crisis in young people are the first steps in a process previous surgeon generals have taken to jumpstart the legislative process of implementing warning labels and safety disclosures.

Perhaps the most significant challenge the surgeon general faces in his efforts to curb the teen mental health crisis is the argument that warning labels on a public forum like social media infringe on the right to free speech.

Claudia Haupt, a law and political science professor at Northeastern University School of Law, said that social media companies would likely resist legislation requiring warning labels claiming infringement on their First Amendment rights.

She also noted that in recent history, the Supreme Court has favored free speech over public health regarding product warning labels “when public health would win in the past.”

Platform Accountability

When it comes to actually implementing warning labels, policymakers’ next challenge is social media platforms’ reluctance to adopt them. Haupt shed light on why these platforms may want to skirt accountability for users’ well-being.

“The big problem with compelled disclosures is basically you’re telling the company to tell the consumer that their own product is dangerous,” Haupt said. “They don’t particularly like that because who wants to say, ‘The thing I’m trying to sell you might actually cause you harm.’”

A spokesperson from Meta told The New York Times that the platform had already implemented the safety and privacy recommendations in Surgeon General Murthy’s 2019 advisory, such as automatically making accounts private and filtering age-inappropriate content for users under 16.

But after Dr. Murthy’s June 2024 announcement pushing for warning labels on social media, spokespeople for YouTube and X declined to comment on the matter, and TikTok remained silent.

Social Media: Do the Risks Outweigh the Benefits?

Existing research indicates that social media may pose both benefits and risks for adolescent users’ mental health. Some experts argue that the relationship between increased technology and social media use and the decline in youth mental health is one of correlation, not causation.

This argument stems from a 2022 meta-analysis of literature reviews on social media’s impact on adolescent mental health; researchers found that most of the literature identified “weak” and “inconsistent” links between social media use and mental health in adolescents.

Many tech and social media companies are likely to emphasize these points when platforms like TikTok, X, YouTube, and Meta are criticized for their role in the youth mental health crisis.

Regardless of whether social media warning labels come to fruition in coming years, making social media safe for children and teens will require more than warning labels, which cannot alone make social media safer or solve the adolescent mental health crisis.

In his NYT article, Dr. Murthy acknowledges that making social media safer for young people will require more than legislation. Community participation by parents, schools, family members, and healthcare providers will be crucial in reshaping digital spaces for children and teens.

Nevertheless, adding a layer of safety to social media still means holding companies accountable for the risks their products pose.

In an interview with The New York Times shortly after penning his op-ed in June, Dr. Murthy explained, “The balance of risk versus harm does not justify the use of social media for adolescents.”

“We have put young people in a position where, to get some benefits, we’re telling them they have to endure significant harms,” the surgeon general said. “We have enough information now to act to make the platforms safer.”

Balancing Public Health and Free Speech with Media Literacy

With the surgeon general ramping up efforts to require social media platforms to include mental health warning labels on their apps, the future of warning labels on social media, in general, remains unclear, particularly while research establishing a clear link between social media use and the teen mental health crisis is limited.

In the meantime, parents, family members, teachers, and other community members must help encourage healthy social media habits and a culture that prioritizes media literacy in younger generations.

If you are an avid social media user but find yourself feeling more isolated, hopeless, or dissatisfied with your life, know two things: 1) you are not alone, and 2) social media could be taking a toll on your mental health.

Social media may not always be a reliable source of information about mental health. However, you may find a sense of validation and community with people online who are going through something similar.

While social media platforms may take measures to filter unverified information and potentially harmful content on their apps, we recommend these trusted sources of information when it comes to your mental health:

• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
• National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Mental Health Guide

Start A Conversation about Your Mental Health Today

Many teens and young adults are unafraid to discuss their mental health—a sign of strength within younger generations that has dramatically helped shed the stigma around seeking help for mental health concerns. If you are struggling with depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, self-harm, or substance abuse, don’t be afraid to confide in someone you trust—or reach out for help directly.

At The Summit Wellness Group, our mental health experts and professionals are devoted to helping you understand and overcome whatever you are dealing with. Allow us to help you take the first step toward recovery.

Contact us anytime by phone at (770) 824-3698 or by email at ContactUs@TheSummitWellnessGroup.com.