Republican Utah governor highlighting harms of social media use in ad campaign

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) launched a public awareness campaign Friday focusing on the harms of social media for children, his office announced.

The campaign argues that many children use social media and the internet too much and it could be having a negative impact on their mental health.

“Rates of depression, anxiety, loneliness, suicidal thoughts and behaviors have increased in recent years,” Cox said in a statement. 

“It’s undeniable that social media is harming our children’s mental and physical health, brain chemistry, self-esteem and more. Parents need to know about these dangers so they can best help their children and teens. We encourage all Utahns to consider less screen time and more human connection. Let’s disconnect to reconnect.”

Federal studies into the impact of social media on mental health have mixed conclusions but have acknowledged negative outcomes. A report from the Department of Health and Human Services earlier this year said that social media could decrease “life satisfaction” in young people as their emotionally immature brains are still developing. 

Those who use social media more than 3 hours per day were also significantly more likely to have mental health struggles, the report claimed.

But it also states that social media could serve an important role in inspiring creativity, self-expression and socialization.

“More research is needed to fully understand the impact of social media; however, 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,” the report states.

“At this time, we do not yet have enough evidence to determine if social media is sufficiently safe for children and adolescents,” it continued.

The Utah campaign will feature on billboards, television ads and, ironically, social media videos in the coming months,

"It’s really important to meet people where they are, right? To understand where people are getting their information," Cox said at a press conference Friday. 

"I always want to clarify: social media isn’t inherently good or bad, it’s how we use it and the content. There are some bad parts of social media. I would say the algorithms are bad, the addictive qualities are bad."

The campaign continues Utah’s battle against social media platforms, after the state announced it would sue the companies in order to “protect our kids.”

The state legislature has also passed a number of bills that would increase social media regulation, including requiring platforms to better verify users’ ages.