Surgeon general says 13 is “too early” to be on social media.

CNN
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US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy says he believes 13-year-olds are too young to be on social media platforms.

Meta, Twitter, and numerous other social media giants now allow users as young as 13 to join their platforms.

“Personally, I believe 13 is too early, based on the data I have seen…they are often undermined by their self-esteem, their relationships, and the distorted and often distorted environment of social media. , to the detriment of those children,” Murthy said in the “CNN Newsroom.”

The number of teens on social media is raising alarm bells among health professionals. ever-growing body of research about the harm such platforms may cause to adolescents.

Murthy acknowledged the difficulty of keeping children away from these platforms due to their popularity, but said parents can achieve success by presenting a united front. suggested.

“If parents could come together and say, as a group, that they would not allow their children to use social media until they were 16, 17, 18, or whatever age they chose, it would be you. children are not at risk early on,” he told CNN.

new research suggests Regularly checking social media can change adolescent brain chemistry.

According to a study published this month, JAMA Pediatricsstudents who checked social media more regularly showed higher neurosensitivity in certain parts of the brain, making their brains more sensitive to social consequences over time.

Psychiatrists such as Dr. Adriana Stacey have been pointing out this phenomenon for years. Stacey, who primarily targets her teens and college students, previously told CNN that using her social media releases a “dopamine dump” in her brain.

“When you do something addictive, like using cocaine or using your smartphone, your brain releases a ton of dopamine at once, which tells our brain to keep using it,” she says. “This part of the brain is actually much more active, especially in teenagers, compared to adults. They can’t get motivated to do other things.”

Recent research shows other ways excessive screen time can affect brain development. For young children, for example, excessive screen time Declining emerging literacy skills and the ability to use expressive language.

Democratic Senator Chris Murphy Recently published an editorial Bulwark on Loneliness and Mental Health reflected Surgeon’s general concerns about social media. It just doesn’t give you the same sense of value and satisfaction that you get from talking to someone or seeing someone,” Murphy told CNN in an interview with Mercy.

For both Murphy and Mercy, the issue of social media addiction is personal. Both men are fathers – Murphy to teenagers and Mercy to young children. “It’s no coincidence that Dr. Mercy and I talk about this loneliness issue in public more than perhaps others,” Murphy told CNN. “I’m looking at this through the prism of my girlfriend’s 14-year-old and her 11-year-old.”

Murphy explained that as a country, the US is not helpless in the face of Big Tech. Lawmakers can make a variety of decisions about restricting young children from social media and encouraging companies to become less reliant on algorithms.

The Surgeon General also referred to similarly addictive algorithms and explained that pitting teenagers against Big Tech “isn’t a fair fight.” If we tell our children to use their willpower to control the time they spend, it pits them against the world’s greatest product designers. ”

Despite the hurdles facing parents and children, Murphy expressed optimism about the future of social media.

“This is not out of our control. When we had dangerous vehicles on the road, we passed laws to make those vehicles less dangerous,” he told CNN. “We have to make a decision [social media] A healthier experience that makes children feel better about themselves and less lonely. ”