Mayor of New York City announces social media as a "public health hazard"

Eric Adams, the Mayor of New York City has officially called social media as a "public health hazard" and an "environmental toxin, putting it in the same category as tobacco and guns, saying young people must be protected from "harm" online.

"Today, Dr. Ashwin Vasan is issuing a Health Commissioner's Advisory, officially designating social media as a public health hazard in New York City," Adams announced during his State of the City address.

As per the advisory from the city, the mental health for young New Yorkers "has been declining for over a decade." The advisory said that according to the 2021 data, on weekends 77% of New York City high schoolers spent three or more hours per day in front of screens, not including homework.

He also criticized TikTok, YouTube and Facebook and said that the three platforms are the cause of mental health issues in children. According to him, these three platforms are "fueling a mental health crisis by designing their platforms with addictive and dangerous features."

"We are the first major American city to take this step and call out the danger of social media like this," the mayor said. "Just as the surgeon general did with tobacco and guns, we are treating social media like other public health hazards and ensuring that tech companies take responsibility for their products."

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an advisory in May 2023 warning that excessive social media use could be a "profound risk" to youth mental health.

The advisory recognized that social media has both positive and negative effects on young people. According to Pew Research, 59% of adolescents reported that social media helps them feel more accepted. But the advisory said ultimately there wasn't enough "research and clear data" to determine if social media is "safe" for adolescents to use.

Murthy told a news source, "I issued my advisory on social media and youth mental health because the most common question parents ask me is if social media is safe for their kids. While some kids experience benefits from social media, there is not enough evidence to conclude that social media is sufficiently safe. Instead, there is more evidence that many kids are harmed by their use of social media."   

He added, "Our children have become unknowing participants in a decades-long experiment. And while there is more we have to learn about the full impact of social media use on their health and well-being, we know enough now to take action and protect our kids."