Raoul joins other AGs pushing for Surgeon General warning for social media sites

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (NEXSTAR) — Whether it’s your Tik Tok ‘For You’ page, your X feed or your Facebook timeline, it’s easy to think the world you construct online is your safe space.
But without proper precautions, there can be problems, especially for kids.

“We don’t really have the controls,” Jenelle Thompson-Keene, a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor at Thriveworks in Champaign said. “I don’t think we really have, you know, as a society in the best understanding about what’s out there and how do we protect our kid.”

Attorneys General from across the country, including Kwame Raoul in Illinois, want a drastic step to be taken to try and add some controls. They want to put a Surgeon General’s warning on social media websites, detailing the dangers.

“Our children should be aware that social media platforms utilize features to make their platforms more addictive to young people. These algorithm-driven platforms can interfere with sleep and education, enable cyberbullying and contribute to depression, anxiety, body dysmorphia and thoughts of self-harm,” Raoul said. “I am committed to holding responsible actors accountable for putting profits ahead of mental health and well-being of our children.”

The step probably wouldn’t deter many kids, but it could educate and be good for their parents.

“There’s a recent report that says teens use social media approximately 5 hours a day. So if you think about 5 hours a day, if you think about 35 hours a week, that’s almost the equivalent of a job,” Thompson-Keene said. “If our kids and teens are spending that much time just on social media, then, you know, what impact is that having on them? And then two, what other things are they not doing while they’re engaged in social media?”

That much time spent on platforms creates its own litany of problems like mental health issues.

“You’re twice as likely to suffer from issues with anxiety and depressive symptoms. You’re more likely to have lower self-esteem over time, more body dissatisfaction,” Thompson-Keene said.

But the problems with extensive use can go beyond just mental health. In some cases, these problems can lead to criminal charges.

Schools across Central Illinois are seeing an increase in kids using social media to make threats. In Decatur, both a 13-year-old and an 11-year-old were arrested for making threats online. The 13-year-old had access to his parents’ gun, but police say the 11-year-old was like a “copycat” and was not directly tied to the other student.

“When it comes to making a threat at a school or a public building or anything, there’s no there’s there’s no tolerance for it and it’s not acceptable behavior,” Kenny Winslow, the Executive Director of the Illinois Association for Chiefs of Police said.

After countless school shootings across the country, police are utilizing more and more resources to find out who is making these threats. The veil of anonymity many believe they have online is not actually there.

“You may think that this technology is anonymous, but we have resources to reveal who you are and to identify who you are,” Winslow said. “And they’re going to charge you with the force to the fullest extent of the law.”

Attorneys General believe this action needs to be taken, because social media companies can’t be trusted to take the steps themselves.

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