New York City Mayor Eric Adams declared social media a “public health hazard” during his annual State of the City address on Wednesday.
“We need to protect our students from harm online, including the growing dangers presented by social media. Companies like TikTok, YouTube and Facebook are fueling a mental health crisis by designing their platforms with addictive and dangerous features. We cannot stand by and let Big Tech monetize our children’s privacy and jeopardize their mental health,” Adams said.
Also on Wednesday, New York City Public Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan issued a commissioner’s advisory emphasizing the correlation between decreasing mental health among teens and increasing non-school-related screen time.
He referenced data from 2021 showing that more than three-quarters (77%) of New York City high schoolers spent over three hours online daily outside of school-related screen time.
Demand for social media restrictions has come not only from parents and caregivers, but “NYC youth attested that social media was negatively impacting their self-esteem, social relationships and ability to manage their time effectively, and asked for more support,” per the commissioner’s advisory.
“We are the first major city in America to take this step and call out the danger of social media like this,” Adams said.
Measures like this are necessary for tech companies to “take responsibility for their products,” the mayor added.
What does this announcement do to teen social media use?
Vasan’s advisory officially designated social media “as an environmental toxin in New York City,” Adams explained in an X post.
Vasan called on federal and state legislators to propose more protective guidelines on child and teen social media use.
He also called on adults to promote healthy social media use by taking the following steps and others:
- “Implementing tech-free times and places in relevant settings that encourage in-person connection.”
- “Discussing social media use in an open-minded way with children and youth, and providing support when they identify concerns.”
- Delaying when children receive smartphones “until at least age 14” and reassessing how it impacts the child’s mental health.
The advisory also calls on New York City teenagers to “develop healthy habits” regarding their own social media usage as well. Suggestions to teenagers include:
- Disabling notifications from social media apps.
- Increasing privacy settings.
- Following uplifting accounts.
- Only using social media during set time frames.
- Sharing concerns with trusted adults.
The advisory comes amid Utah lawsuit against TikTok
New York City isn’t the only place working to protect teenagers from the negative effects of social media use.
In addition to passing legislation like the Utah Social Media Regulation Act, Utah has filed a lawsuit against TikTok.
Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes said Thursday in a press release that an unredacted version of Utah’s lawsuit against TikTok was allowed to be released to the public.
The unredacted version includes these allegations summarized by the attorney general’s office in the Thursday press release:
- “TikTok’s core mission has been to addict our children.
- “Even as TikTok was addicting our kids, the company also knew that its content moderation systems were woefully inadequate.
- “TikTok has allowed the proliferation of child sexual abuse material on its platform.
- “TikTok has actively worked to cultivate relationships among policymakers — including the National Parent Teacher Association — to lobby its interests.”
Reyes commented, “We feel strongly that TikTok has prioritized profit and greed far above the well-being and safety of our kids. Our commitment is to continue the state’s investigation and multifaceted litigation to put an end to these harms and provide some relief to Utah children.”
Another lawsuit against TikTok filed by the state of Indiana was dismissed in November.
“We were the first state to file suit against TikTok, but not the last, and it’s reassuring to see others take up this ongoing fight against a foreign Big Tech threat, in any jurisdiction,” Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita told CNN in a statement.