U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, raised concerns about the impact of social media on children and adolescents, pointing out potential harm from exposure to certain content and excessive use. He stated, “Nearly every teenager in America uses social media, and yet, we do not have enough evidence to conclude that it is sufficiently safe for them.” His advisory recommends the enhancement of safety standards, limitation of access, increased privacy protection, and the promotion of digital literacy among children. It also calls for parents and caregivers to establish tech-free zones and report inappropriate content or activity.
Dr. Murthy urged technology companies to make a concerted effort to assess and share the effects of their products on children and prioritize safety and health in their design decisions. He highlighted the importance of protecting children’s privacy, observing age restrictions, and improving response systems to complaints.
While Wall Street remained unaffected by the advisory, analyst Dan Ives sees it as another red flag for social media giants like Meta (NASDAQ:META) and Snapchat (NYSE:SNAP). Snapchat welcomed the Surgeon General’s approach, emphasizing its messaging service is friend-centered and doesn’t promote harmful content.
Following the warning, social media stocks Snap, Meta, and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) are down at the time of writing. Interestingly, though, Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) is trading slightly higher on the day and is also the most favored by analysts in terms of upside potential. Indeed, Wall Street anticipates an almost 17% increase from current levels.
