Surgeon General Wants Social Media Warning Label

In an op-ed published in The New York Times, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called on Congress to require a social media warning label. This would be similar to those of tobacco and alcohol products. 

In the op-ed, Murthy mentioned the toll social media is having on the mental health among young people. 

According to Murthy, he would like the warning to include an alert to users about the potential mental health harms of websites and apps. 

George Washington University has experts available who can offer insight and analysis. If you would like to schedule an interview, please contact Katelyn Deckelbaum, [email protected].

Lorenzo Norris, is an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and chief wellness officer at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Amir Afkhami, an expert in psychiatry, holds a joint appointment at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences and the Milken Institute School of Public Health. An expert in psychiatry, much of his current work focuses on psychiatric services and education, behavioral health policy, and the mental health consequences of conflict.

Lorien Abroms is a professor of prevention and community health at the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health. She has studied how social media and digital communication technology can be used for health promotion. She can also talk about the potential for negative impact on teens and young adults.Tony Roberson, an associate professor of nursing at the GW School of Nursing, is a mental health expert. He is an expert on anxiety, depression and childhood development. 

Vikram Bhargava, assistant professor of strategic management & public policy, is an expert on technology addiction and his research centers around the distinctive ethics and policy issues that technology gives rise to in organizational contexts. Bhargava authored a research article in Business Ethics Quarterly, titled  “Ethics of the Attention Economy: The Problem of Social Media Addiction“, which dives into why scholars, policy makers, and the managers of social media companies should treat social media addiction as a serious moral problem. It also contextualizes social media addiction in comparison to other addictive products, like cigarettes or alcohol.