Surgeon General Wants to Treat Social Media Giants Like Tobacco Companies

What's Happening

Health

Surgeon General Wants to Treat Social Media Giants Like Tobacco Companies

What's going on: In an op-ed published in The New York Times yesterday, US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy called on Congress to add a warning label to social media platforms, saying the platforms can cause adverse health effects. Warning labels — like the ones you see on alcohol and tobacco products — require approval by Congress, but historically they've been effective. When the government put warning labels on cigarette packages nearly 60 years ago, roughly 42% of US adults smoked cigarettes. By 2021, that percentage had fallen to 11.5%.

What it means: Experts continue to study the potential link between social media and the mental health crisis affecting children and teenagers — and they haven't reached a consensus. Some studies have found negative effects, including research from 2019 linking more than three hours of daily social media use to increased mental health risks and a 2022 survey where 46% of teens reported feeling worse about their bodies due to social media. Other experts argue that social media isn't solely responsible for the decline in teens' well-being. They pointed to other factors like “economic hardship, social isolation, racism, school shootings, and the opioid crisis,” according to The New York Times. Still, it's pretty clear where America's top doctor stands in the debate — and he's hoping that this new proposed warning label will finally sway teens' screen time. More than half of US teens spend at least four hours a day on social media, according to a survey from last year.

Related: Tips To Help Your Kids Cut Down On Screen Time (NYT Gift Link)

Climate

A Dangerous Heatwave Is Coming to Most of the US

What's going on: Thanks to a powerful heat dome, temperatures across the Midwest and Northeast are expected to reach record-breaking highs this week into the weekend, affecting an estimated 265 million people. Some areas could experience the longest heat wave they’ve seen in decades, according to the National Weather Service. Temperatures are expected to rise into the 90s (with real feel in the 100s thanks to humidity) in areas as far north as Maine. Tomorrow and Thursday are expected to be the hottest days of the week, but global heat problems are here for the long-haul. Yesterday, dozens of labor and environmental groups filed a petition urging FEMA to categorize extreme heat and wildfire smoke as "major disasters." A move that would allocate federal funds to help communities as they deal with heat waves.

What it means: Extreme heat is the deadliest type of severe weather, killing on average twice as many people annually than tornados and hurricanes combined. The elderly, small children, and outdoor workers are at a higher risk of heat-related illness in affected areas. Mitigating extreme heat has become an urgent priority in cities across the US, as scientists have warned that heat waves will get more severe as the climate crisis worsens. Phoenix has been resurfacing the pavement with a more reflective finish to help reduce heat and Miami reportedly installed 150 new bus shelters. It remains to be seen whether these efforts will be enough to make rising temps livable.

Related: What To Do When There’s A Summer Blackout (AP)

Health

Major Hospitals Are Reportedly Silencing Patients With Nondisclosure Agreements

What's going on: An NBC News investigation found that some public hospitals settled malpractice cases with nondisclosure agreements (NDAs), preventing victims and their families from disclosing information about what went wrong. The investigation looked into settlement negotiations between the University of Washington Medical Center and its affiliated hospitals, and found that 70 of those 89 settlements included NDAs. According to NBC, some of the patients involved suffered cognitive impairments and severe brain damage as a result of malpractice, but because of the use of NDAs, the misconduct was never made public.

What it means: Since the #MeToo movement, there has been increased scrutiny on the use of NDAs and their role in protecting bad actors or employers. However, NDA use in the medical system, particularly in public hospitals like those highlighted in the NBC investigation, has received less attention. Public hospitals, funded by taxpayers, are expected to adhere to federal transparency laws, which actually prohibit the use of NDAs. Beyond potential legal concerns, experts also argue that these agreements prevent hospitals and doctors from being held accountable for misconduct when patients and their families are silenced, potentially putting future patients at risk.

Related: Four Things You Should Know About NDAs (Thomson Reuters)

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Let's Unpack This

Why is America struggling with a loneliness epidemic?

Another epidemic is on the rise in the US, and there’s no vaccine for this one. Loneliness is spreading across the country, even after the isolation of the COVID pandemic ended. The percentage of adults feeling lonely is down from the pandemic high, but one poll earlier this year found that 30% of adults reported feeling lonely at least once a week. theSkimm spoke with public health expert Jody Gan to better understand how loneliness is shaping America. 

“Back even many decades ago, loneliness was starting to creep up as people were buying houses further away from the city for various reasons, for economic reasons, and maybe people wanted a bigger house and a bigger yard, which put people further away from one another,” Gan said. 

Technology is also partly to blame according to Gan. She said “people are getting so much out of their screens that they don’t feel a need to make plans.”

”People just need more practice to get their social groove back, but it’s hard to get that practice…Sometimes it feels awkward to kind of flex that social muscle or build that social muscle back up.”

As for how loneliness could shape American society as a whole, Gan said “if we are not a cohesive society, how are we going to tackle some of the big problems that are ahead of us like climate change and gun violence?...I think that it is something that can have very big and serious ramifications and [I am] hoping there’s some definite things we can do as a country, as a society, to make it easier for people to connect.”

Featured Expert

Jody Gan

Professorial Lecturer Health Studies at American University

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Game Time

Start your Tuesday off right with Typeshift, a fun new game that challenges you to create words from a set number of letters. Warning: It’s very addicting. Start playing.