Welcome to the Great Social Media Panic of 2024

Is fear-mongering about children’s social media use potentially subverting smarter, evidence-based conversations about the actual causes of our children’s mental health crisis in this country?

“There certainly are many causes for these ills in our society, but it is our contention that the pervasive messages aimed at children which promote and glorify suicide, rape, sadomasochism, and so on, have to be numbered among the contributing factors.”

Statements attributed to Susan Baker (wife of then-Treasury Secretary James Baker) and Tipper Gore (then wife of Senator and later Vice President Al Gore), founders of The Parent Music Resource Center (PMRC), taken from U.S. Senate hearing transcripts (1985)

The best lessons from today are usually pulled from the past. And you typically don’t have to look all that hard for them. For me, I can learn a lot about the moral panic about social media in 2024 from a bunch of white-collar, self-appointed activists in 1985.

The Parents Music Resource Center

Founded mostly by the spouses of powerful and influential public officials in 1985, the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) devoted their considerable leverage and influence in and around Washington D.C. to create a moral outrage around song lyrics, album art, and at that time, America’s newest and increasingly ubiquitous art form, the music video (and MTV).

Their pressure resulted in public Senate hearings, aired then on the three major broadcast networks where prominent and very popular recording artists were lambasted for their artistic expression. Those artists included: Judas Priest , Prince, AC/DC, Madonna, Black Sabbath, and more.

They contended (incorrectly and baselessly) that song lyrics, album covers, and videos were so violent, drug-infused, and sexual, that those songs and videos would irrevocably and permanently destroy the moral underpinnings of society, especially young people.

It was the very epitome of a moral panic and one that pulled our attention away from the root causes of violence. And we’re in the middle of another one today.

Are We Entering Another “Moral Panic” Era? If You Ask Me, We Certainly Are.

We can all agree that social media networks engage in problematic business practices. There’s mounting evidence we are facing a youth mental health crisis in America. However, to attribute self-harm rates among teen girls exclusively to social media is adding fuel to an already blazing moral panic inferno.

The real problem with moral panics is they provide cloud cover to the actual problems society can’t grapple with. In other words, bad faith actors often provide simple, and facile, reassurance instead of seeking complex guidance from institutions and thought leaders.

Which is why I’m championing the words of our U.S. Surgeon General.

U.S. Surgeon General Issues Official Social Media Recommendations

This week, the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy recommended social media networks label their platforms with warnings that those platforms could serve as a “profound risk of harm to kids.”

In a New York Times op-ed, Murthy called for “social media warning labels like those put on cigarettes and alcohol” to make sure young people in particular are aware of how an overconsumption of social media could have a negative impact on their overall mental health.

“The data we have from that experience, particularly from tobacco labels, shows us that these can actually be effective in increasing awareness and in changing behavior. But they need to be coupled with the real changes, [like] the platforms themselves,” Murthy said during an NPR interview.

“Right now, young people are being exposed to serious harms online, to violence and sexual content, to bullying and harassment, and to features that would seek to manipulate their developing brains into excessive use.” — Surgeon General D. Vivek Murthy

In short, social media may be harmful to our kids’ mental health. And, fair enough! I know adults who would benefit from curbing their social media usage (including yours truly). Here’s the Surgeon General’s actual advice:

• Postpone social media profiles until after middle school;
• Promote the use of text messages as an intermediary step to give teens a way to stay connected to their peers and friend groups;
• Maintain “phone-free zones” around bedtime, meals, and social gatherings.

I’ll say this again: I wish more adults would take some of that advice! Murthy makes an excellent point in that children are unfairly pitted against large, publicly-traded tech companies with boundless resources to keep literally anyone (children or no) engaged and staying on the app for hours at a time.

Our brains are still developing well into our teen years, and keeping a kid away from the deepest parts of the Internet’s vast content oceans? Sure. Let’s do that.

Murthy is a seasoned public official, who has served under three presidents. He’s using his office as he should: To issue smart, salient health warnings about something that could impact our nation’s youth.

It makes sense that our government would take action against predatory companies. The massive social media platforms have earned our ire and corrupted our trust. That part, at least, is obvious. However, their products, when used sensibly, can be useful and help even the playing field for groups who struggle to get attention for their causes.

We should take a serious and constructive look at the nature of our society writ large, and I’m concerned that if we don’t do that right now, we’re going to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Again.

Yes, This Generation is Anxious. Is That REALLY Just Because of Instagram?

Earlier this year, New York University Stern Business School Professor Jonathan Haidt wrote a book called “The Anxious Generation,” now a New York Times bestseller. His thesis is thatsocial media is one of the primary causes of America’s mental health crisis.

In it, he cites over 400 studies to back up his claims. However, over two-thirds of those studies were conducted before 2010, before social media and smartphones reached wide adoption. (Dr. Haidt? Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat didn’t exist in 2011.) None of those studies cited examine the impacts of heavy social media use or the impacts on children’s mental health.

I’ll say that again. None.

He’s using an old method (scapegoating) with a slightly updated skin. Instead of the rise of cable TV and popular music, he’s blaming technology for societal ills.

Moral panics over new technology aren’t new. They’ve been going on forever. It’s also not the first time the Surgeon General’s office has weighed in with guidance. The Office took similar measures in 1969 and issued a report that examined the impact of televised violence (TVs in every home were still a relatively new phenomenon). The report’s conclusion?

“According to the 23 commissioned studies and the report that summarized them — it depends. Television might influence some kids, but other factors — parental attitudes, personality, and community violence — also seemed to play a crucial role in aggressive behavior. In sum, the report stated, “Television is only one of the many factors which in time may precede aggressive behavior. It is exceedingly difficult to disentangle from other elements of an individual’s life history.” — Behavioral Scientist

So in other words: Children become violent for a wide array of reasons, but TV isn’t the sole cause. You can’t pretend that a child’s economic or physical realities don’t play an enormous factor in whether or not they become violent.

Before then, in the 1920s, a similar moral panic erupted about, wait for it, listening to the radio too much. In the 1950s? Comic books.

Blaming technology or media for social ills doesn’t take into account other causes for the current, and very real, mental health crisis amongst our youth. In fact, solely blaming this technology further ignores what could be the actual culprits. If we refuse to address those, we fail our kids and our future.

Gun Violence

Younger generations have witnessed some of the most traumatic and horrifying school shootings in history. Gun deaths among kids increased by 50% between 2021–2023. If Haidt’s true concern is about the impact of dangerous products on children’s mental health, I can think of one that should absolutely be banned, and it’s definitely not a cell phone.

Human Rights and Bodily Autonomy

In marginalized communities, people continue to struggle for basic equal rights. According to the CDC, in the United States, “Black women are “three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than White women.” Thanks to the most conservative SCOTUS in our nation’s history, women have lost most of their bodily autonomy. Many of our young people aren’t just worried about those alarming statistics; they’re impacted directly by them.

Add to that the attacks on trans youth, draconian book bans, and the dangerous attacks against LGBTQ+ communities, and it’s no wonder our kids are feeling anxious about the future.

Climate Anxiety

Climate change (consistently ranked the biggest political concern among young people) continues to worsen. Young people know that increased extreme storm activity drives up the cost of housing and food and puts their health at risk which all put constraints on their economic future.

Healthcare and Educational Inequality

Young people increasingly place access to reproductive healthcare and concerns about student debt high on the list of issues that concern them, as they should! Republicans across the country continue to push for abortion bans (with no health exceptions) and are targeting contraception and IVF next. And federal student loan debt currently sits over $1.7 TRILLION DOLLARS.

Let’s Invest In Policies That Have Real Outcomes

It’s worrisome that so many intelligent people have hosted Haidt on their TV shows, podcasts, and social media feeds. Public health officials and actual scientists continue to raise major concerns about the claims in his book, all of which appear to have little impact on his burgeoning popularity.

Look, I’m the father of a preschooler and I’m worried about the world he is inheriting from us. But what has me worried: Rising sea levels, disappearing glaciers, a lack of will on gun reform, and a lack of affordable healthcare.

I want more research into what’s causing so many kids mental anguish. I’m worried, too. But I’m more worried about the rise of fascist politicians across the world, our lackluster global approach to climate change, and bigotry than my son having access to Instagram.

And right now, the science is not backing up claims that social media is the reason for our current mental health crisis.

As with most things, moderation is key. Unfettered access to anything is generally a bad thing (unless it’s healthcare), so limiting kids’ screen time and encouraging pro-social outdoor activity and play is wise while we wait for more conclusive evidence.

But blaming social media for a national mental health crisis is reckless until we really know what’s happening here. We need a full picture of what’s going on with our kids before we once again make tools the boogeyman.

I think I say this for all of us: We’ve seen that movie before.