纽约-美国医务总监·维韦克·默西(Vivek Murthy)周二在一份新的咨询报告中警告说，过度使用社交媒体可能对美国青少年的心理健康构成“严重风险”。
“我非常担心社交媒体已经成为我们许多年轻人面临的痛苦和挣扎的重要因素，”Murthy在接受美国广播公司新闻直播采访时说。
根据卫生部长办公室发布的报告，卫生部长的建议是“为需要国家立即意识到并采取行动的重大公共卫生挑战而保留的”。
卫生局局长说，虽然我们正处于“青年心理健康危机的中期”,但找出可能的原因是很重要的。该建议承认，社交媒体对年轻人既有积极影响，也有消极影响，但最终没有足够的“研究和明确的数据”来确定青少年使用社交媒体是否“安全”。
95%的青少年使用社交媒体。根据美国联邦贸易委员会的数据，尽管13岁通常是社交媒体平台用户的最低年龄要求，但近40%的8至12岁儿童仍在使用这些平台。
儿童和青少年用户不仅在这些账户上滚动，而且也越来越着迷。根据咨询报告中引用的一项研究，年轻人平均每天花三个半小时参与或创建社交媒体内容。
Murthy称这“非常令人担忧”，因为他指出的研究表明，每天至少在社交媒体上呆三个小时会使年轻人患抑郁症和焦虑症的风险增加一倍。该建议还强调了社交媒体对身体形象和无序饮食行为的负面影响。
这位美国外科医生说，这不仅“削弱了他们的自尊”，而且这些平台还“占用了对健康和发展至关重要的活动的时间。”
卫生局局长告诉我们，在一个典型的工作日，近三分之一的青少年报告使用屏幕媒体直到午夜或更晚。
“睡眠质量差与青少年大脑的神经发育改变、抑郁症状以及自杀想法和行为有关，”根据咨询中引用的一项研究。
Murthy还强调了儿童在社交媒体上接触到的有害内容，包括暴力、性内容、骚扰和欺凌。
据Murthy说，管理儿童使用社交媒体的全部负担目前都落在了父母身上，他也是幼儿的父母。
“这不能仅靠父母来管理，”Murthy告诉ABC新闻，详细说明了他为什么呼吁政策制定者和技术公司“立即采取行动”。
2022年2月8日，医务总监·维维克·默西博士在华盛顿国会山的参议院财政委员会前作证。
苏珊·沃尔什/美联社，档案
该建议对科技公司可以采取的行动提出了一些建议:对其产品对青少年的影响进行独立评估，与研究人员一起披露研究结果，创建有效的系统来解决用户及其家人的投诉和请求，以及在设计产品时优先考虑健康和安全。
“我们必须确保这些平台对我们的孩子来说是安全的，”Murthy说。“我们对待儿童使用的其他产品的方式，无论是药物、汽车、汽车座椅、婴儿配方奶粉，我们都确保这些产品是安全的，这样父母就能得到他们需要的支持，为他们的孩子做出最好的决定。”
卫生局局长的建议要求政策制定者建立“适龄健康和安全标准”，要求更高的隐私保护标准，资助未来的研究，支持在学校实施数字扫盲教育，并要求科技公司分享健康相关数据。
本月早些时候在美国，一对两党议员提出了《儿童在线安全法》，重点是保护在线儿童，并让社交媒体公司承担责任。
尽管该法案去年未获通过，但参议员理查德·布卢门撒尔(Richard Blumenthal)在与参议院多数党领袖查克·舒默(Chuck Schumer)交谈后表示，他“希望”并期待在本届会议上进行投票。
Social media could have a 'profound risk' on kids and teens, US surgeon general warns
NEW YORK --U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned in a new advisory Tuesday that excessive social media use can be a “profound risk” to the mental health of youth in the United States.
“I’m very concerned that social media has become an important contributor to the pain and the struggles that many of our young people are facing,” Murthy said in an interview on ABC News Live.
A surgeon general’s advisory is “reserved for significant public health challenges that require the nation’s immediate awareness and action,” according to the report released by the surgeon general’s office.
The surgeon general said that while we’re in the “middle of a youth mental health crisis” it’s important to identify possible causes. The advisory recognizes that social media has both positive and negative effects on young people, but that ultimately there’s not enough “research and clear data” to determine if it’s “safe” for adolescents to use.
Ninety-five percent of teens are on social media. Although age 13 is commonly the required minimum age for users of social media platforms, nearly 40% of children ages 8 through 12 still use the platforms, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
Children and teen users are not only scrolling on these accounts, but are also becoming hooked. Young people on average report spending three and a half hours per day engaging in or creating social media content, according to a study referenced in the advisory.
Murthy calls this “deeply concerning,” as the studies he points to indicate that at least three hours on social media a day doubles a young person’s risk of developing depression and anxiety disorders. The advisory also highlights social media’s negative impact on body image and disordered eating behaviors.
Not only is it “chipping away at their self esteem,” the U.S. surgeon said, but that these platforms are also “taking time away from activities that are critical for health and development.”
On a typical weekday, nearly one in three adolescents report using screen media until midnight or later, the surgeon general told us.
“Poor sleep has been linked to altered neurological development in adolescent brains, depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts and behaviors,” according to a study referenced in the advisory.
Murthy also highlighted the harmful content children are being exposed to on social media, including violence, sexual content, harassment and bullying.
The entire burden of managing social media use in children is currently being placed on parents, according to Murthy, who is also a parent to young children.
“It can’t be on parents alone to manage this,” Murthy told ABC News, detailing why he’s calling for “immediate action” on policymakers and technology companies.
The advisory has a number of suggestions for actions technology companies can take: conducting independent assessments of the impact of their products on adolescents, disclosing findings with researchers, creating effective systems to address complaints and requests from users and their families, as well as prioritizing health and safety while designing products.
“We’ve got to make sure these platforms are actually safe for our kids,” said Murthy. “The way we do with other products that children use, whether it’s medications, cars, car seats, infant formula, we make sure that these are safe so that parents have the support that they need to make the best decisions for their kids.”
The surgeon general’s advisory asks policymakers to create “age-appropriate health and safety standards,” require higher standards for privacy protection, fund future research, support implementation of digital literacy education in schools and require tech companies to share health-related data.
Earlier this month, a bipartisan pair of lawmakers introduced the Kids Online Safety Act, focused on protecting children online and holding social media companies accountable.
Though the bill failed last year, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, after conversations with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, said he has “hope” and expects to have a vote this session.
