The Physician’s Role in Curing the Social Media Epidemic

The healthcare profession has done an admirable job controlling infectious epidemics and pandemics, such as AIDS and COVID-19 (special shout-out to Operation Warp Speed for the creation of COVID vaccines in record time). Now, we need to move on to social media epidemics.

I believe the epidemic of social media has the potential to be as dangerous as infectious epidemics. Mental health should be treated with the same urgency as physical health. The time has arrived for physicians to take an active role in recognizing the dangers of social media, especially for youth, and to have discussions with young patients and their parents about the impact of social media on the growth and development of children.

Over the last decade, growing evidence has identified the potential negative impacts of social media on adolescents. According to a study of American teenagers ages 12 to 15, those who used social media more than 3 hours per day faced double the risk of having adverse mental health outcomes, including depression and anxiety symptoms. While most social media platforms require users to be a minimum of 13 years old in order to sign up (per Congress’ Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act), users are often younger than this. Moreover, experts suggest even 13 is too young for kids to be on these platforms.

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD, MBA, issued an advisory in 2023 emphasizing the growing evidence that social media is harming young people’s mental health. Meanwhile, the American Psychological Association issued its own health advisory calling attention to the potential harms of social media and offered recommendations for intervention, such as tailoring social platform functionality to users’ developmental capabilities and screening youth for signs of problematic use. This year, Murthy followed up his advisory with a call for warning labels on social media platforms. Physicians too have an active role to play.

The Role of Physicians in Curbing Use of Social Media

The American Academy of Pediatrics offers a parental tool that can help. In addition to helping parents determine the age at which they plan to give their kids phones or internet access, this plan can be used to establish rules and educate children and teens about privacy settings, avoiding strangers online, not giving out personal information, and knowing how to report cyberbullying. Parents should also be cautious about giving elementary school-age children access to the internet via a device with all the social media apps.

One strategy pediatricians can take is to recommend that families make a social media plan before their kids’ teenage years. Parents might consider starting with a “dumbphone,” a cell phone that doesn’t have email, an internet browser, or other features found on smartphones. Delaying full access to smartphones for as long as possible can offer benefits.

Physicians should also share with parents the dangers of social media and the steps they can take to control their children’s use of social platforms. This includes setting age-appropriate access limits, maintaining open communication, monitoring screen time, keeping devices out of bedrooms, and discussing online safety practices. Parents should also model responsible social media behavior themselves.

Offering specific “rule” suggestions to the parents of our patients can help too. For example, parents should create an environment at home where all phones are turned off by a specific time and at least 1 hour before bed. I have a policy in my house that cell phones are not permitted at the dinner table or out at a restaurant. My wife and I try to set an example for our children by not using cell phones at dinnertime. If we must take a call, getting up and walking away from the dinner table is appropriate.

Of course, it’s not all up to us doctors. Policymakers play a critical role too, both here in the U.S. and abroad. For example, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has placed his government at the forefront of finding a solution to this worldwide epidemic. Albanese has introduced legislation to ban social media for children under 16. Perhaps this is a policy worth copying in the U.S.

Bottom line: We need to make it a priority to eradicate the social media epidemic. Physicians can take an active role in identifying these issues and having discussions with patients and their families about the toxic effects of social media use. Our profession is on the front line of this issue, and we have an opportunity to curtail the use of social media, especially among teenagers.

Neil Baum, MD, is a urologist in New Orleans, the corporate medical officer of Vanguard Communications, adjunct professor at the Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, and the author of The Complete Business Guide for a Successful Medical Practice.