By Bailey Kennedy
If something changes the pathways in our brains and damages our health — and if it does so to Americans on a vast scale — it should be regulated as a threat to public health.
It’s time for our regulators to acknowledge that social media fits this description.
Social media poses an active health threat to many of its users, in a way that is akin to other regulated substances: it has been tied to a variety of harmful health outcomes, including depression. It has also become increasingly clear that social media can be addictive.
Even if it is a behavioral rather than a substantive addiction, with only indirect links to physical health, the high number of Americans who exhibit some degree of social media addiction is concerning.
Inasmuch as social media presents us with a public health crisis, the American government should consider potential regulatory steps to address it.
