“I do think it would be appropriate … if Congress is willing to provide the legislative or regulatory authority to put that label on, then I’d certainly be willing to partner,” Murthy said in response to questioning from Republican Sen. Roger Marshall during a . 

Murthy’s response was one of many showcasing the urgency of soaring suicidality, addiction, depression and anxiety among young people, particularly those who are LGBTQ, Black and brown. 

One in five high schoolers made a suicide plan in 2021, Murthy said. 

The average young American uses social media for about 3 ½ hours each day, making them  doubly at risk for disrupted sleep and clinical depression or anxiety. 

“This is not just a crisis. It’s an emergency. This is probably the biggest problem we have in this country,” said Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville. “The number one commodity that we have in this country is not gold and silver, it’s our young people. And we’re destroying them.”

Tuberville added in his work with young people as a coach, he has seen prescription drugs take over communities, particularly fentanyl. Several other senators voiced concerns about young people accessing fentanyl-laced counterfeit medications on social media. 

Beyond social media, Murthy identified three other drivers of the youth mental health crisis: loneliness; trauma from loss of loved ones, violence, abuse or incarceration; and declining confidence in the future, due to surging economic inequality, racism, gun violence and climate change. 

The amount of time young people aged 15-24 spent with friends declined by more than 50% even before the pandemic, Murthy said of the loneliness epidemic, urging for community, faith and local organizations to help rebuild social connection and places of belonging. 

Social media age and safety standards should be revamped and in-school programs to teach children tools to manage emotions should be expanded, said Murthy and Katherine Neas, the Department of Education’s deputy assistant secretary for special education and rehabilitative services.

“Simply put, schools are a gateway to needed services that otherwise might be inaccessible to many young people,” Neas said. 

Colleges and universities can increase mental health services on-campus, continue public talks on mental health to decrease stigma, and boost support for communities on-campus like clubs, religious organizations, and support networks for marginalized students, the Surgeon General said. 

Murthy added parents should establish safety standards on their children’s devices, a necessity given the “utter lack” of accountability when it comes to social media companies’ impact on young people, though they’ve been around for about 20 years. 

In a comparison between the auto and tech industries, Murthy told senators they would not expect parents to have the expertise to inspect whether tires or a car’s frame would keep their children safe – a government’s responsibility. 

“They rely on us establishing standards and then enforcing those with manufacturers. These are incredibly complex platforms … and parents need help here to interpret and understand their safety.” 

The Senate HELP committee has nine healthcare reauthorizations expiring in September that, if not renewed, may impact future access to mental health support across the country. The , for instance, supports people with substance abuse disorders and children suffering from trauma, and prohibits children in juvenile incarceration from being denied Medicaid.

Sen. Tim Kaine used his time not for questioning but for a heartfelt address to the nation’s young people. Kaine’s children both attended the Richmond, Virginia high school where . 

He acknowledged the feeling of hopelessness many feel, that they cannot change the social conditions they find depressing, cannot yet vote. 

“Our history shows the opposite. Things get better when young people do engage,” he said. “The therapeutic value of linking arms with colleagues to battle for improvements in climate or reductions in gun violence, that very act … has a positive impact not only on society, but on one’s sense of well being.”

Surgeon general Vivek Murthy warned Tuesday in a that social media poses a profound risk to children, with excessive use impacting sleep, relationships and depression that can lead to thoughts of suicide. The report may also shape national policy as legislators and courts take on algorithms, privacy and age policies, and access to platforms. 

“We are in the middle of a national youth mental health crisis, and I am concerned that social media is an important driver of that crisis – one that we must urgently address,” Murthy said in a statement.

According to Murthy’s report, even as 95% of teens and 40% of 8-12 year olds use social media, there is no evidence platforms are “sufficiently safe.” Spending more than three hours daily doubles their risk of poor mental health, including depression and anxiety symptoms, the report states. The average daily use for teens is three and a half hours, research shows.

The surgeon general also noted push notifications, infinite scrolls, and public like lists are particularly enticing and concerning for youth in early adolescence who frequently compare themselves to peers.

Citing many of the same concerns Murthy identified, more than 100 school districts nationwide have sued companies including TikTok, Snap, YouTube and Meta for their allegedly addictive algorithms that they say harm students.

Lawyers at the forefront of district litigation said the surgeon general’s report strengthens their claims.

“I think you’re going to see even more file as a result of this advisory,” said Dean Kawamoto, counsel with Keller Rohrback, the leading Seattle-based law firm representing several districts who hope to make platforms less harmful. 

But some lawyers not involved in the case remain skeptical, believing that while the report will inform the national conversation, it does not carry enough weight to make waves in court.

“It is tentative and ambiguous and not really definitive in the way that most courts are going to want when ruling on something being dangerous,” said Rebecca Tushnet, First Amendment expert and Harvard Law professor.

In contrast to the definitive stance on, for example, smoking, the surgeon general acknowledged social media also holds benefits. Platforms can help create a community for marginalized young people.

Active Minds, one of the nation’s leading mental health advocacy nonprofits, urged families and policy makers curbing social media access in the wake of the advisory to consider what may be lost. 

Bans could cut off access to critical sex education or communities where isolated LGBTQ, Black and Brown youth feel they belong — similar reasons other .

“While the harmful impacts of social media usage on youth mental health certainly exist, are well documented, and require additional research…we’ve also heard from many youth and young adults, particularly from vulnerable communities, who credit social media with saving their lives,” Active Minds told ĂŰĚŇÓ°ĘÓ.

Among the practical recommendations for and tech companies: set limits in the house around meals or bedtime; reach out for help; share data that could further research on health impacts; enforce age minimums; develop safety standards by age; and increase funding for research. 

“Our children and adolescents don’t have the luxury of waiting years until we know the full extent of social media’s impact. Their childhoods and development are happening now,” the report states.

About two thirds of adolescents are “often” or “sometimes” exposed to hate-based content. Six in 10 girls have been contacted by a stranger on social media in ways that make them uncomfortable. Young girls and LGBTQ youth are more likely than their peers to experience cyberbullying or harassment, which about 75% of adolescents believe is poorly managed by social media sites. 

At the same time, in a recent survey of , 64% said they would rather give up their right to vote for one year than give up their social media accounts.

Meta and TikTok did not respond to requests for comment. 

“As a messaging service for real friends, we applaud the Surgeon General’s principled approach to protecting teens from the ills of traditional social media platforms,” a spokesperson for Snap Inc, owner of SnapChat, told ĂŰĚŇÓ°ĘÓ.