New York City designates social media as 'public health hazard,' 'environmental toxin'
New York City designates social media as 'public health hazard,' 'environmental toxin'
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By entering your email, you are agreeing to Fox News Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive. To access the content, check your email and follow the instructions provided.During a State of the City address, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced that his city will be the first to designate social media as a health hazard for young people.
"Today, Dr. Ashwin Vasan is issuing a Health Commissioner’s Advisory, officially designating social media as a public health hazard in New York City," Adams said.
"We are the first major American city to take this step and call out the danger of social media like this," he added. "Just as the surgeon general did with tobacco and guns, we are treating social media like other public health hazards and ensuring that tech companies take responsibility for their products."
Vasan, who works as the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, also explained the background of his advisory, noting the significant decline of youth mental health.
Mayor Eric Adams boasted how New York City was the first U.S. city to publicly call out social media. (Jeff Bachner/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
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"[Y]outh mental health in NYC has been declining for over a decade. Rates of NYC high schoolers experiencing hopelessness increased by over 42% between 2011 and 2021, and rates of suicidal ideation increased by more than 34%. According to the most recent data in 2021, 38% of NYC high schoolers felt so sad or hopeless during the past year that they stopped engaging in their usual activities. Young people who identify as Black, Latino, female or LGBTQ+ bear disproportionately high rates of experiencing hopelessness," the advisory read.
Vasan also included suggestions for parents such as "implementing tech-free times and places in relevant settings that encourage in-person connection," "discussing social media use in an open-minded way with children and youth and providing support when they identify concerns" and "modeling healthy social media use, including sharing use practices and how to be thoughtful with use."
He encouraged parents to hold off giving their children smartphones or similar devices until they are at least 14 years old.
Vasan made several suggestions about how parents can address social media with their kids. (iStock)
"Brains develop throughout childhood, and there is no safe age established yet for children to use smartphones and social media platforms," the advisory noted.
The advisory recommended that both state and federal lawmakers take greater action to protect children.
"All New Yorkers should advocate to hold social media companies accountable and advance reform that protects youth from harmful and predatory practices," it concluded.
Vasan also quoted U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy’s previous advisory from May, that warned "the current body of evidence indicates that while social media may have benefits for some children and adolescents, there are ample indicators that social media can also have a profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents. At this time, we do not yet have enough evidence to determine if social media is sufficiently safe for children and adolescents."
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U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy previously warned that social media may not be safe for children. (iStock)
"We must acknowledge the growing body of research about potential harms, increase our collective understanding of the risks associated with social media use, and urgently take action to create safe and healthy digital environments that minimize harm and safeguard children’s and adolescents’ mental health and well-being during critical stages of development," Murthy wrote at the time.
In an email to Fox News Digital, a PR spokesperson from TikTok provided ways that the platform is protecting mental health.
"Accounts aged 13-18 are automatically set to a 60-minute daily screen time limit. In addition, accounts aged 13-15 do not receive push notifications from 9 pm and accounts aged 16-17 have push notifications disabled starting at 10 pm. We also offer customized screen time limits for each day of the week and the ability for people to set a schedule to mute notifications," the email read.
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Fox News Digital also reached out to Facebook and YouTube for a comment.
Show Me Milwaukee: Restaurant celebrates nearly 1 year in community
Cream City Social Eatery is located near Holton & Center streets.
Updated: 11:47 AM CST Jan 17, 2024
STAY WARM IN THAT STUDIO. YES, YOU’RE RIGHT WHERE I CREAM CITY SOCIAL EATERY AND IT WILL BE THERE ONE YEAR AND IT’S AMAZING THING IF YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THIS PLACE AND IT’S CALLED CREAM CITY EATERY FOR A REASON, YOU CAN SEE THE CREAM CITY BRICK IN HERE, BUT ALSO JUST THE ATTENTION TO DETAIL IN THIS PLACE. I’M HERE WITH THE OWNER, MARK CAMPBELL. WHAT’S GOING ON, SIR? HOW ARE YOU DOING? WE’RE DOING WELL NOW. THE FIRST THING WHEN I WALKED IN CREAM CITY EATERY, AND THEN WE SEE THIS BRICK. LIKE, WAS THIS YOUR WHOLE IDEA? HOW DID THIS COME ABOUT? UM, ACTUALLY, THIS WASN’T EVEN A THE NAME WASN’T MY IDEA. A FRIEND OF MINE, HER NAME IS NATALIE NASH. SHE’S A REALTOR. UM, WE HAD A INTEREST IN ANOTHER BUILDING THAT WAS ON VILAS PHILLIPS AND NORTH AVENUE. UM, THAT BUILDING WAS CREAM. IT’S GRAY NOW. SO THAT’S THE BUILDING WE WERE INITIALLY GOING TO GO IN. AND OF COURSE IT WAS CREAM. SHE WAS LIKE, YOU GUYS SHOULD CALL IT CREAM CITY. THEN WE STUMBLED UPON THIS BUILDING. AND THEN WHEN WE CAME IN HERE AND WE NOTICED THE WALLS. YEAH. UH, ACTUALLY HAD THE CREAM CITY BRICK AND THEN, UH, LIKE, IT EVEN MADE MORE SENSE TO CALL THIS SPACE CREAM CITY. YOU KNOW WHAT I’M SAYING? WHEN WE SAW THE BRICK AND THEN IT. YOU KNOW, IT JUST DIDN’T FEEL LIKE A TOTAL LOSS OF NAME, YOU KNOW, LEAVING FROM ONE BUILDING TO THE NEXT. RIGHT. AND I KNOW THIS IS A LABOR OF LOVE FOR YOU BECAUSE YOU GUYS, WHEN YOU OPENED DURING COVID, WHICH IS CRAZY. BUT THEN I COME IN HERE AND YOU SEE THE ATTENTION TO DETAIL, THE PENNY BAR AND EVERYTHING ELSE. MAN, HOW DID IT HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE A YEAR? UM, WELL, WE’RE ALMOST A YEAR. WE’LL BE A YEAR. APRIL 24TH. THAT WAS OUR SOFT OPENING. WE DID THE ENTIRE BUILD, ACTUALLY, UH, DURING COVID. SO THAT WAS A LITTLE HECTIC, RIGHT? UM, BUT IT FEELS GOOD HAVING THE CITY, UM, ACTUALLY EMBRACE US AND COME OUT, YOU KNOW, ENJOY THE FOOD AND STUFF, LIKE THAT. IT’S BEEN PRETTY GOOD. YEAH, I HAVE NO COMPLAINTS. YEAH. AND THE FOOD TOO. I’VE HEARD NOTHING BUT GOOD THINGS. THAT’S HOW. THAT’S THE FIRST TIME I HEARD ABOUT THE PLACE. SOMEBODY WAS TELLING ME HOW GOOD THE FOOD IS HERE. ARE YOU? YEAH. WE, UH, IT’S. YOU KNOW, YOU CAN’T PLEASE EVERYBODY. YOU KNOW, WE GET TENS. WE GOT SOME ONES BEFORE. BEFORE, YOU KNOW, IT IS WHAT IT IS. HEY. BUT, UH, THE THE PLACE IS BEAUTIFUL. UH, THE ARTWORK IS BEAUTIFUL. WE GOT TO TALK ABOUT THAT. AND IS THAT A DJ BOOTH OVER THERE? IT IS. WE GOT TO GET YOU UP. UP THERE. HEY, YOU KNOW, HEY, I GOTTA GET YOU UP. I’M JUST SAYING, WE GO
Show Me Milwaukee: Restaurant celebrates nearly 1 year in community
Cream City Social Eatery is located near Holton & Center streets.
Updated: 11:47 AM CST Jan 17, 2024
Watch our "Show Me Milwaukee" Spotlight every Wednesday on 12 News This Morning at 6 a.m.A local restaurant has been serving as a gathering place for the community for nearly a year.Cream City Social Eatery opened in April 2023.Along with delicous food, drinks and upscale vibes, the restaurant is home to a local artist's work.The restaurant is located near Holton and Center streets in Milwaukee's Harambee neighborhood and is open Thursdays to Mondays. Don't forget, you can stream season one of "Show Me Milwaukee" on the free Very Local App.
MILWAUKEE —Watch our "Show Me Milwaukee" Spotlight every Wednesday on 12 News This Morning at 6 a.m.
A local restaurant has been serving as a gathering place for the community for nearly a year.
Cream City Social Eatery opened in April 2023.
Along with delicous food, drinks and upscale vibes, the restaurant is home to a local artist's work.
The restaurant is located near Holton and Center streets in Milwaukee's Harambee neighborhood and is open Thursdays to Mondays.
Don't forget, you can stream season one of "Show Me Milwaukee" on the free Very Local App.
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