June 21, 2024
Social media warning needed
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A Māori data ethicist says warning labels for social media is a good idea – but they will be hard to impose on the major companies.
United States Surgeon General Vivek Murthy penned an opinion piece in the New York Times this week calling for a warning label stating that social media is associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents.
He also wants legislation to shield young people from online harassment, abuse and exploitation and from exposure to extreme violence and sexual content, as well as preventing platforms from collecting sensitive data from children.
Karaitiana Taiuru says while social media may seem a good way to catch up with people or news, there has been a lot of research showing young and vulnerable people can be manipulated online.
“There’s proof that people who have issues with their size or anythng with their body can become quite depressed with different trends online. There’s different music which kind of hypnotises people into different advertising, there’s a whole range of issues which as parents we should be aware of so I think some kind of warning is a good idea,” he says.
Dr Taiuru says some of the social media companies behave as if they were above the law, and use free speech arguments to reject any oversight.