ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO/KFGO) – A new Minnesota law will soon require social media platforms to have a mental health warning label, becoming the first state in the U.S. to have a requirement. Similar legislation is being considered in other states, including California, New York, and Texas.
When the new law is implemented, users will have to acknowledge the potential negative mental health impacts of social media, every time they access one of the platforms.
“I think it’s a good idea,” says David Nathan, a psychologist with Allina Health. “I don’t know if it’s enough. I think that helping people be aware that social media, especially prolonged exposure to social media, is not healthy, I think that’s a great thing. I think that’s really, really helpful.”
He says the United States is behind on this endeavor.
“China and other countries that actually outlawed the use of social media over a certain amount of time, and online video games for high school students already, for teenagers already,” says Nathan.
Some experts believe mental health issues could be a side effect of social media use.
A Pew Research Center survey of US teens ages 13 to 17 found 48% say social media has a mostly negative effect on people their age, up from 32% in 2022.
“I think that social media is fine in appropriate doses, but I think that it’s also designed to be very, very addictive,” Nathan says.
Users could find themselves in trouble if social media use gets out of hand.
“There are teenagers that spend, you know, five, eight, 10, 15 hours a day on these devices,” Nathan explained. “So it’s collecting tremendous amounts of information and it knows what people like. And it uses that information to sell it to advertisers.”
Nathan is hopeful the warning will help.
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