The speaker highlights the importance of timing when making recommendations, emphasizing the need to assess whether it is the right moment. They discuss internal debates on the timing of recommendations and the consideration of data to support their decision. The speaker mentions the critical role of data in making recommendations and refers to studies showing how social media negatively impacts young people's body image and mental health, contrasting anecdotes with empirical evidence.
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy isn’t afraid to go after powerful interests. In mid-June, he published an op-ed in The New York Times calling for a warning label on social media platforms that says they’re associated with mental health problems for teens. The following week, he declared that gun violence is a public health crisis. However, the surgeon general's powers are limited. It'll take an act of Congress to put a warning label on social media platforms, and thanks to the Roberts court, even legislators are limited in their ability to regulate firearms.
Kara and Dr. Murthy discuss this country's seemingly intractable gun problem and the debate around the research into the harms caused by social media, along with his work on loneliness, and how Covid has eroded trust in the public health sector.
Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher
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