Social media and tobacco – The daily blog of behavioral and cognitive economics

The Surgeon General Says Social Media Is Like Tobacco. He’s Completely Wrong

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy made headlines last year after he issued an advisory about social media and youth mental health. In a New York Times op-ed published in June 2024, he declared that “it is time to require a surgeon general’s warning label on social media platforms, stating that social media is associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents.” This is just the latest volley in the surgeon general’s fight against the youth mental health crisis, which he has called “the defining public health issue of our time.” By proposing a surgeon general’s warning label akin to those on tobacco products, Murthy is implying parallels between Big Tech and Big Tobacco. ….[READ]