A Proposal for Social Media Regulation
When watching TV shows that are based in the early/mid 20th century , like Mad Men or Boardwalk Empire, we can’t help but notice that almost all characters in those shows smoke cigarettes. Why?
Well, cigarettes were considered a fad at the time. More importantly, the negative health effects of cigarettes weren’t nearly as widely known as they are today.
Fast forward several decades, and smoking really isn’t so fashionable any more. The CDC says that in 2019, only 14% of all US adults smoked, compared to more than 40% in the 1960s.
A lot of law regulation happened in the mean time, that helped in that significant decline. I believe this is exactly what will happen to social media in the future. The only question is, how long will we have to wait.
First of all, as we know, social media is a pretty new phenomenon. It’s barely 15 years old, but the real impact of social media in our lives is directly associated with the invention and rise of smartphones.
At the beginning of 2010, Facebook had only 431 million monthly active users, while at the beginning of 2020 that number had grown to 2.6 billion.
It’s safe to say that the second decade of the 21st century is the decade that will be remembered in history as the rise of social media.
Since it is such a new phenomenon, the true effects of it’s influence on our society are yet to be properly analyzed.
Two things, however, are definitely true:
- The effects (positive and negative) of social media are humongous, even revolutionary.
- The power of the largest social media companies is many times larger than the power that the largest tobacco companies ever had.
But, why do I force the social media / tobacco comparison?
I have three main reasons:
- Both were at a time very fashionable ( tobacco in early/mid 20th century, SM in early 21st century and still going on)
- Both are extremely addictive
- Both are backed by extremely powerful corporations, that are doing their best to deregulate their respective industries and to propagate diminishing the harmful effects of their products
Big tobacco however, has lost many legal battles in the past decades, big social media has yet to.
The fact that social media is extremely addictive, is perhaps it’s most dangerous side effect. Heroin users describe the high they get from the substance as the greatest feeling they have ever experienced. We all know about the negative health effect of chronic heroin use, but if it’s such a great feeling, using it two or three times a year would bring no harm, right? Except, it’s usually impossible. The addictive nature of the drug keeps the user seeking for more, until he/she can’t avoid using it daily.
The social media user, and the heroin user have quite a bit in common. When looking at both from afar, we can conclude that both are totally disconnected from the real world, while using their respective substances. Both can spend hours at a time in this stoned (or in social media users case — scrolled ) state. Both users allow their respective substances to take them to highs and lows, and some unfortunately allow these substances to take them to the grave.
From watching documentaries such as Childhood 2.0 and The Social Dilemma , we have learned that there is definitely a correlation with the rate of teenage suicides and the rise of social media. The rate of depression in teens is soaring due to to hours spent in front of a screen. The irony is that, social media has made us antisocial.
What can be done about this?
Our lawmakers can pass laws that will force social media to add labels to their applications, same as tobacco laws forced tobacco companies to add labels to their packs such as “Smoking kills” and disgusting pictures of lungs affected with cancer, and rotting teeth .
We are used to seeing the annoying cookie popup, whenever we visit some web page, informing us that this page is going to collect some info on us. Imagine opening Instagram , and the first thing you see is “Warning: Pedophiles are known to use this app for soliciting children” , or “Warning: Increased use of this app has direct effects on your mental health” ( along with a picture of a teen that has a rope around his/her neck).
In most countries, it is illegal for minors to buy cigarettes. I’m not proposing banning social media for minors completely, but some form of time limit could relatively easily be established.
AI has advanced greatly in the past few years, so harmful content and suspicious activity could easily be spotted. For example, an owner of a social media account who is an adult, should not be able to randomly contact a minor. What would be a good reason for a 41 year old to contact an 12 year old on social media? What would be a good reason for a group of 15 year olds to comment content on a peer’s profile page that is clearly encouraging him/her to commit harm (or even suicide) to themselves. However insignificant this may sound in 2021., I have a feeling that in 2041. this will be considered a criminal act, same as if you would in this day and age put cocaine in your Coca Cola, which was perfectly legal when it was first patented.
Unlike cigarettes, social media does have many positive effects, so banning it would not be a good idea. Regulating it, so that the harmful effects are minimized is the proper way to go. However, this should be done sooner, rather than later. We are spending enormous amounts of time online, so it has become a fundamental part of our lives. A part, that is deeply unregulated. This is something that will cost dearly, once a generation of kids that grew up on the deregulated internet grow up and start assuming crucial roles in our society.
Regulation of tobacco has not eradicated smoking. People still smoke. Except now, when they light their first cigarette, they are doing it fully conscious of the negative and potentially life threatening effect it will have on them. Teenagers who are about to post their first selfie on social media should also be entitled to a similar right.
