Did You Scroll Past The Surgeon General's Proposed Labels For Social Media?

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy says he intends to push for warning labels to be placed on social media platforms. Saying we are “a lonely nation,” Murthy laid out the proposed labeling strategy in a New York Times Op-Ed piece today.  The warning labels would not ban kids outright from using social media; rather, they would be a guide for parents, letting them know about the possibility of the sites having a negative impact on their child’s mental health. WOR street reporter Natalie Migliore joined 710 WOR’s Len Berman and Michael Riedel in the Morning program after she found a few New Yorkers in mid-Town who didn’t have their noses buried in their phones and asked them what they thought about a labeling system for social media.

Most of the people Migliore spoke to seemed to be in favor of the labels; one gentleman saw benefits for children and parents alike. “I think it could have benefits. I think there is safety in warnings. If children and parents were able to get a better understanding of the side effects of social media in the long term, like, before they let their kids go on and even they themselves go on, I think it would give them a better understanding as to what they’re tapping into.”

Migliore found a woman who expressed a common viewpoint as to why the labels might be welcome- when I was a kid, things were different for the better. “[Kids] don’t want to go out and hang out with their friends and stuff like that, play games and stuff. They don’t do any of those things anymore. They’re becoming more overweight, you know. When I was a child, you didn’t see a lot of overweight kids because you went outside, your parents were outside, the whole family was outside at one time, doing things together. Now, all they want to do is sit down and watch TV, go on Facebook, Instagram, all those kinds of things.”

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