Social Media Can Be as Addictive and Harmful as Tobacco – Maybe It Should Be Similarly Regulated

There is a great body of research showing that unregulated social media use creates widespread mental health problems, which has only gotten worse since the COVID-19 pandemic forced people to spend more and more time indoors. Studies show that average usage of social media increased among young children and adolescents during the pandemic, in which online browsing became a necessary alternative for those unable to perform their typical outdoor physical activities. This increased risk of exposure to digital media addictions, in turn, correlates with higher rates of anxiety and depressive behaviour.[1]

The long-term effects of social media go beyond harmless bouts of anger and sadness – the activity has lasting impact on users’ brain functions and health, which is especially problematic for children whose brains are still developing. Negative impacts include decreased attention span and a need for constant stimulation, while the most harmful consequences include body dysmorphia and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.[2] Beyond health effects, social media also gives a voice to extreme, unfounded political positions, though that goes outside the scope of this article.

I would compare the current dilemma around social media to regulations on tobacco products throughout the years. Tobacco products, much like social media, cause various negative health effects with a widespread societal impact. Tobacco regulations include mandating that labels on the products include warnings on their negative health impacts and statistics on how people have been harmed. The most recent measure is the Tobacco Products Appearance, Packaging and Labelling Regulations (TPAPLR) in 2023, which states “all tobacco product packages must display a health warning, including information on the quit line and available tobacco cessation web portal services”. [3] In a first, this requires warnings to go directly on the cigarettes themselves. The stated purpose of these regulations is for “providing consumers with information about the deadly nature of these products”[4], and the evidence shows that these warnings have deterred youths from smoking and consequently lowered the rates of the associated negative health effects.[5]