As teenage social media use has soared to nearly five hours a day as of last summer,

the US Surgeon General now calling for a warning label on platforms, which is the topic of today's

Tech check with our own Steve Kovac.

Hey Steve. Hey there Carl,

yeah, Surgeon General Vivick Murphy, he wants to put a health warning label

on social media saying it could be harmful to mental health, especially for young people.

Now it's going to be similar to the Surgeon General Warnings

that have appeared on tobacco and alcohol products for decades.

And Murphy laying out his case for the label,

which would require Congress's approval by the way before it could happen

in a New York Times op-ed this morning and in that piece he calls mental health a crisis for young people

and points to research showing young folks who spend over three hours a day

on social media have increased risk of depression and anxiety. He also points to

the success of the warnings on tobacco products which led to a decline in usage.

Now so far Congress has passed zero laws regulating big technology companies

that includes areas where there's pretty much universal and bipartisan agreement.

That's, of course, protecting children online

from things like bullying or sexual predators.

Now, in the fall of 2021, a former Facebook employee

Francis Hagen blew the whistle on the company, releasing

internal Facebook research in 2019 that showed social media could make young girls feel suicidal.

This is especially true on Instagram and among many other ill effects for mental health.

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