It's Wednesday, June 19, 2024.

I'm Albert Moeller, and this is the briefing, a daily analysis of news and events

from a Christian worldview.

The Surgeon General of the United States, Dr Vivick H. Murphy, has called for a warning label

concerning health to be put on social media platforms.

The Surgeon General statement was made in the context of public argument.

He held a press conference.

He also wrote a major piece which was published

as an opinion piece in the editorial pages of the New York Times.

Vivic H. Murphy is serving his second term as Surgeon General of the United States.

And what he's called for here raises some very interesting questions.

First of all I guess the most obvious question is, is social media dangerous?

In this case the Surgeon General is directing his primary attention towards children and young people.

Even as it's pretty well documentable that social media comes with all kinds of health concerns for just about anyone, he is pointing to the fact that

children and young people are particularly susceptible to damage.

And one of the significant issues of harm has to do with something just as simple as body image.

The Surgeon General cited documentation indicating that an unprecedented number of American

adolescents are now expressing a very low body image partly because of the

messaging that is coming over social media but we all know it's more than that.

In some cases that messaging is just

point out that this is a concern when it comes to adolescents that long

predates the development of social media. As you are looking at the

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