U.S. Surgeon General warns 13-year-olds are too young for social media

If you’re worried about the impact that social media has on your teen, you’re not alone. Recently, the U.S. Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, issued a social media warning regarding 13-year-olds.

During a “CNN Newsroom” event, Murthy explained that 13-year-olds are too young to be using social media and that these platforms are essentially doing a “disservice” to them.

The age guidelines for Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat are all set at just 13-years old. TikTok allows users younger than 13 but their are certain safety guidelines that go into effect for that age group. Some of which limit the information that’s gathered about the user, prevents them from messaging other users and doesn’t allow others to see their profile.

Although there are several safety apps for kids that help parents track their activity online, they don’t target the root of the problem, which is that kids are utilizing these apps in the first place.

“Their relationships and the skewed and often distorted environment of social media often does a disservice to many of those children,” Murthy states. At a time when children’s thoughts are forming about their self-worth, the way they form these thoughts is significant, he adds.

Last fall in California the proceedings of a major federal lawsuit began where a variety of social media platforms will face litigation over social media injury towards adolescents. Lawyers compared the addictive quality of social media to that of opioids and tobacco.

In Seattle, the public schools also filed a lawsuit against the tech giants, including Snapchat and TikTok. The complaint states, “misconduct has been a substantial factor in causing a youth mental health crisis.”

Murthy says, “When we had dangerous vehicles on the road, we passed laws to make those vehicles less dangerous. We should make decisions to make [social media] a healthier experience that would make kids feel better about themselves and less alone.”

Harvard researchers report that studies suggest struggling teens say social media makes things worse for them. Some of the data points to girls being at higher risk between ages 11-13 and for boys, 14-15. The effects of social media on teens also came into the spotlight in 2021, after evidence from Instagram’s leaked internal research report stated that, “1 in 3 girls blame Instagram for making their body image issues and problematic social media use worse.”

“If we tell a child, use the force of your willpower to control how much time you’re spending, you’re pitting a child against the world’s greatest product designers,” Murthy says.