Social media is like “an environmental toxin” and represents “a danger to public health”. New York leads the way and becomes the first major American city, probably in the world, to brand the platforms as harmful to the “mental health”, especially of the very young.
In his annual State of the City address, Mayor Eric Adams used strong words. “We cannot stand by and allow Big Tech to monetize our children's privacy and put their mental health at risk,” he thundered, underlining that New York is the first city in the United States to take a similar initiative against in social media. “Just as we did with tobacco and guns, we will treat social media as another public health danger and make sure tech companies take responsibility for their products,” he added, pledging to “fix” a crisis which mainly affects children and teenagers.
The details of the initiatives to be carried out will be made known at a later date but there are those who hope that the mayor will reintroduce the prohibitionism of Michael Bloomberg who, as mayor of the Big Apple, had banned cell phones in public schools. A law then retired by his successor Bill de Blasio, who branded it antiquated. While waiting for the measures to be followed, the authorities have published a warning outlining a series of measures that adults can take to promote healthy use of social media.
It is recommended not to allow access to smartphones or social media until at least 14 years of age and to outline a family plan with rules to adopt and respect on the use of the platforms. State and federal authorities are instead asked to protect young people from “predatory practices” with more stringent policies. Social media has recently come under fire for the role its platforms have played in the mental health of young people, and have been hit by a series of legal actions. The Biden administration's head of public health, Vivek Murhy, raised the alarm last year by declaring that social media presents strong risks for children, fearing the hypothesis that there could be a link between the time spent on social media and depression and the loop.
Last October Meta, Mark Zuckerberg's company which controls Facebook and Instagram, ended up in the crosshairs of 41 American states who accused it of its platforms capable of “interfering with education and everyday life » of young people.
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