The US advisory called for a multi-pronged effort to cut the risk of harm posed by social media to young users. Read more at straitstimes.com.
SINGAPORE – United States Surgeon-General Vivek Murthy has issued an advisory urging parents, young users, policymakers, technology firms and researchers to act now to create healthy and safe social media environments, to minimise harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents.
Social media use is nearly universal among the young in the US, but there is currently not enough data to show that it is safe for them, said Dr Murthy last week. In fact, there is growing evidence that social media use is associated with harm to young people’s mental health. Harmful content exposure and the excessive and problematic use of social media are key areas of concern.
More research is needed to determine the full impact social media use has on children and adolescents, but they do not have the luxury of waiting years until the full extent of social media’s effects is clear, the advisory said. “While nearly all parents believe they have a responsibility to protect their children from inappropriate content online, the entire burden of mitigating the risk of harm of social media cannot be placed on the shoulders of children and parents,” it said.can strengthen age-appropriate safety standards, limit access in ways that make social media safer for children of all ages, better protect children’s privacy, support digital and media literacy, and fund additional research.
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