In The Midst Of Multiple Controversies Of His Own Making, NYC Mayor Adams Decides The Real Problem… Is Social Media

It seems that if anything has gone wrong in the world, ignorant and foolish politicians have a readymade scapegoat: it’s all social media’s fault.

NYC Mayor Eric Adams is facing a pretty big list of crises, some of his own making. He’s facing what appears to be a pretty serious corruption investigation. He’s cutting a ton of budget from schools and libraries — but not from his former police colleagues. Speaking of the police, he vetoed a widely supported bill that would have added more transparency to police interactions with the public. And, frankly, it feels like a large percentage of New Yorkers are embarrassed to even talk about their mayor.

But have no fear. In his state of the city address this week, Adams zeroed in on what he says is the real problem in New York City: social media.

Mayor Adams’ version of “look, squirrel!” is to make a big part of his speech being the evidence free declaration that social media is “toxic.” Incredibly, right before claiming that social media is toxic, he talks about how an internet tool that the city set up to help kids was useful, not realizing that this is a form of social media itself:

We know academic preparation is essential to our children’s future, but so is mental health. We are proud of all we have done to promote mental health, in and out of the classroom. Last year, we launched Teenspace to help young people connect with a licensed therapist over phone, video, or text. So far, over 1,500 children have used this free service, and we will continue to get our students the help they need in a way that works for them.

And then immediately turns around and makes bizarre, unsubstantiated, and unsupported claims about the “harms” of social media.

We also need to protect our students from harm online, including the growing dangers presented by social media. Companies like TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook are fueling a mental health crisis by designing their platforms with addictive and dangerous features. We cannot stand by and let Big Tech monetize our children’s privacy and jeopardize their mental health.

That’s why today, Dr. Ashwin Vasan is issuing a Health Commissioner’s Advisory, officially designating social media as a public health hazard in New York City. We are the first major American city to take this step and call out the danger of social media like this. 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. You’ll be hearing more about this soon.

This is ridiculous on multiple levels. First off, last year we had a big post detailing why any comparison between social media and “toxins” like lead paint or tobacco is inherently stupid. Those are things that are known to cause real harm.

With social media, that’s just not true. We’ve gone through this over and over and over again, but the actual science simply does not support the claim that social media is inherently harmful to kids.

What it finds is that, for many kids, social media is quite helpful. It’s a way for them to communicate with friends, to educate themselves, to explore new ideas, and more. In some cases, it can be life-saving. For a very large group, social media is neither good nor bad. It’s just a tool.

For a very small percent, however, there does appear to be some level of danger. And that’s nothing to ignore. But, even there, the relationship is complicated. Some of the evidence suggests that the causal part is in the opposite direction (i.e., those kids who are already dealing with mental health issues for other reasons retreat to social media, which can then be dangerous for them).

The right way to deal with this, according to tons of experts, is to look for ways to help that small percentage of kids who are at risk, where social media exacerbates problems.

But declaring social media, universally, to be a “public health hazard” like it’s toxic waste or second-hand smoke is, not just wrong and ignorant, but literally counterproductive. Given that some of the recent research suggests that the real cause of the teen mental health crisis is the lack of spaces for teens to be teens without parents hovering over them, declaring all of social media as a “public health hazard” will only lead to shutting down the spaces that many, many teens use to connect with their friends (most of whom can do so healthily).

Again, social media seems like a convenient scapegoat — especially for a mayor dealing with cascading controversies (some of which may lead to criminal penalties) — but declaring it a public health hazard like tobacco is not only stupid, but directly counterproductive.

Indeed, the incredible part is that for all the headline grabbing of social media now being a “public health crisis,” and Dr. Vasan publicly announcing that he’s declared social media to be a “toxin,” the actual report he released doesn’t support any of that, and instead suggests some common sense approaches to using social media in a healthy manner.

If it were truly a “toxin” you don’t issue a report that is mostly focused on how to use it smartly. We don’t have public health officials talking about how kids can have a healthy relationship with tobacco, or lead paint, or alcohol. With actual toxins, you protect the community from them.

Instead, the actual advisory is mostly focused on being aware of the risks and using social media appropriately. Which is perfectly good advice, but is entirely different than calling it a “public health crisis” and a toxin.

Indeed, the advisory notes the benefits many kids get from social media (imagine a similar advisor for lead paint or cigarettes?).

Adults who interact with children and youth, including caregivers, health care providers,
educators and school staff, community-based organizations, and youth development staff,
should take opportunities to promote use of social media in a manner that is protective of
youth mental health. This includes:
a. Implementing tech-free times and places in relevant settings that encourage
in-person connection;
b. Discussing social media use in an open-minded way with children and youth,
and providing support when they identify concerns; and
c. Modeling healthy social media use, including sharing use practices and how to
be thoughtful with use

And, uh, yeah. Like that’s just generally good advice. It’s also common sense. But it’s difficult to square common sense language like that with “toxin!” or “public health crisis!” Most of the recommendations in the document are along those lines. Be thoughtful about social media use. Parents should talk to their kids about it. Teachers should teach good use of social media based on approved curricula.

I mean, all of those are perfectly reasonable, good suggestions. There is a silly nod towards the end about state and federal laws (many of which are being passed, though all are getting thrown out as unconstitutional), but what’s so stupidly striking about this is that the language Adams and Vasan are using is fear mongering moral panic nonsense. Whereas, the actual “advice” they’re giving is… not at all consistent with their hyperbolic language.

But, of course, being calm and reasonable doesn’t get headlines. And Adams and Vasan want headlines. The headlines they get, though, will mislead the public and create real harm. Because most parents, teachers, and school administrators aren’t going to read the details. They’re going to hear “toxic” and try to ban the usage outright, even as that’s been shown to create very real harms in kids.

In other words, it’s yet another move by Adams that gets headlines but creates a real mess for actual NYC residents.

Elect better people.