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The US Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, says that social media should come with warning labels about its potential health impacts much like warnings on cigarettes and other tobacco products. In an op-ed<\/a> in The New York Times<\/em>, Murthy says that social media is an \u201cimportant contributor\u201d to the teen mental health crisis.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is time to require a surgeon general\u2019s warning label on social media platforms, stating that social media is associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents,\u201d Murthy wrote. \u201cA surgeon general\u2019s warning label, which requires congressional action, would regularly remind parents and adolescents that social media has not been proved safe.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s not the first time Murthy has raised mental health concerns surrounding social media. Last year, he issued an advisory<\/a> that made similar arguments last year, saying that social media posed a \u201cprofound risk\u201d to teen mental health. In his latest op-ed, Murthy cited a study showing that higher social media use was associated with an increased risk<\/a> for anxiety and depression, as well as a survey<\/a> where almost half of teens reported that \u201csocial media makes them feel worse about their bodies.\u201d<\/p>\n As Murthy notes, warning labels can\u2019t happen without cooperation from Congress. And it’s unclear what kind of support he might have for such a measure, though lawmakers around the country have shown some support for things like age verification<\/a> laws as they look to crack down <\/a>on social media companies over teen safety issues.<\/p>\n He also points out that warning labels alone wouldn\u2019t make social media safer, but would help better inform parents, schools, doctors and others. \u201cThere is no seatbelt for parents to click, no helmet to snap in place, no assurance that trusted experts have investigated and ensured that these platforms are safe for our kids,\u201d he wrote. \u201cThere are just parents and their children, trying to figure it out on their own, pitted against some of the best product engineers and most well-resourced companies in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n