With teen mental health issues on the rise, Mayor Eric Adams will be speaking out against social media companies in his State of the City address he will deliver Wednesday, NY1 has learned.
Sources tell NY1 that Adams will announce that Commissioner Ashwin Vasan has declared social media a public health threat. As part of the announcement Adams will unveil steps for combatting the negative impact social media has on youth mental health. The mayor will also call on state and federal lawmakers to do more to curb some alleged predatory practices of the companies, which include TikTok, Instagram and Facebook.
Parents will also be part of Adams’ plan. The mayor will ask them to create tech-free times for their children and wait until they turn 14 years old before giving them a smartphone.
“Unfettered access to social media is fueling our national youth mental health crisis and putting our children in harm’s way,” Adams said in a statement. “Taking inspiration from the U.S. surgeon general, we’re the first major American city to take this step and call out the dangers of social media like this. New York City is employing a wide array of tools to address this toxin in our digital environment, including education and awareness, research, and regulation.”
Adams has previously put social media companies in his cross-hairs, blaming them for a rise in what’s known as subway surfing because of a proliferation of videos showing teens dangerously riding on top of trains.