Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy recently published an op-ed in the New York Times calling on Congress to require social media to be labeled as “associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents.” (You may remember warning labels from such vices as cigarettes and alcohol, substances so harmful for youth, they were eventually banned).
So, if the government is now overtly labeling social media as the likely “smoking gun” responsible for our children’s declining mental health, where does that leave marketers?
Like most of you in the industry, I’ve witnessed the power of social media to reach audiences, shape opinions and motivate action in incredible ways – most often for good. At the same time, I fully recognize that social media can also be a vehicle to deliver negative, manipulative and downright harmful content, which not only feels uncomfortable, it also could pose a reputation risk - especially now with the likely acknowledgement of a warning label.
Finding ways to reduce the volume of toxic content on social media and improve the mental health of our youth is a complex challenge, and the solution will of course be multifaceted. The Senate recently passed a bill to expand online privacy and safety protections for children on digital platforms, but the bill is unlikely to be taken up by the House this year and will likely face legal challenges if passed. Implementation of any regulation is going to take time and alone is not a silver bullet. For effective change, platforms, parents, lawmakers, school administrators, and cultural influencers all have a role to play.
But we marketers also have an opportunity – and a responsibility – to take action where we can to create incremental positive change on the way to a larger solution. In fact, there may be no group better equipped to effect change quickly than those in our industry. After all, we are the writers, artists, makers and creators who set the tone for the content consumed by the world. We can provide sound counsel, help shape opinions, initiate and accelerate trends, amplify positivity, reinforce social norms, and motivate and inspire the next generation. Surely, individually and collectively, we can have an incredible impact.
If you are like me, the “how” to make a difference in facing such a complex problem can be daunting, but I believe there are some basic suggestions marketers can follow to help make a difference.
SUGGESTION #1: Understand the Origins of the Problem – and Why “Smoking” Isn’t a Far-fetched Analogy
There are ample stats in the news about Gen Z’s poor mental health, but to understand the pervasive impact of this issue, and be able to be smarter counselors to our brands, I think it helps to back up and think about macro trends impacting our younger generation that led to this situation – and how these experiences shaped their psyches.
The most obvious difference between Gen Z and Millennials, just a generation before them, is the age at which they got their phones. Gen Z received their first phones on average at age 12, compared to Millennials who received their first phones at age 17 – and they were flip-phones.
And once they got them, how they used them! U.S. teens average 4 hours per day on social media, and almost half say they use the internet “almost constantly.” At the same time, or perhaps because of this, time spent in-person with friends declined by nearly 70% from 2003 to 2020.
Through their phones, Gen Z has had a front row seat to some of the worst aspects of their fellow humans at a time in their development critical for forming their sense of self and how they fit into the world. Stressful news topics impacting their lives shook confidence in personal safety. And the sheer volume of problems made possible through unlimited access to online content conditioned impressionable minds to “learned helplessness,” reducing optimism for the future and decreasing feelings of agency and hope.
Despite being the most “connected” generation, Gen Z is also the loneliest. Rates of adolescent loneliness nearly doubled between 2012 and 2018, and young people aged 16 to 24 feel more lonely than any other age group. Laying the groundwork for the warning label call-to-action he just issued, the Surgeon General released a report in 2023 raising the alarm about the devastating impact of the epidemic of loneliness and isolation in the United States. According to the report, “loneliness and isolation increase the risk for individuals to develop mental health challenges in their lives, and lacking connection can increase the risk for premature death to levels comparable to smoking daily.”
There’s a fantastic bit by comedian Ronny Cheing that makes the digital/smoking connection in a poignant way:
“The Internet is making people so f***ing stupid. Like, who knew all of human knowledge can make people dumber. Like, in 50 years, we’re gonna look at the internet the same way we look at smoking right now. It’s going to be like, ‘Man, I can’t believe that 50 years ago, we just let pregnant people use the internet. What were we thinking??’”
While this comedic analogy felt extreme just a few years ago, today it seems like wise foreshadowing, and comparing social media to smoking makes more and more sense.
SUGGESTION #2: Find Ways to Promote Positivity – and Be Aware of What Might Make Things Worse
While lawmakers consider regulatory solutions to tackle youth access to social media and content moderation on a larger scale, brands can still be doing their part to counter the tide of mental health challenges among youth.
Depending on the type of business/product, brands can explore tie-ins for mental health within marketing campaigns. Dove is an inspiring example. As rates of eating disorders among teen girls hit younger and more severely than ever before during COVID, Dove published its “Cost of Beauty” video bringing attention to how toxic social media content hurt the body image of young girls. (I warn you - it is heart-wrenching to watch). More recently, Dove has set its focus on the future with an AI-focused campaign, “The Code,” which provides tips for writing AI prompts in ways to generate more realistic and inclusive forms of beauty. Poor body image isn’t the only negative side effect of social media on youth mental health, but it’s a big one, and Dove found a relevant, meaningful way to reduce harm.
If a brand wants to be active in this space, it’s important to consider the latest research on what strategies can help counter the mental health crisis, without making the situation worse. For example, new research is showing that the constant focus on mental health can actually be counterproductive for young people. Zers are well aware that their generation is facing more mental health issues, and constantly reminding them of this fact may create a certain sense of powerlessness and inevitability, or even nudge them toward focusing on negative feelings, particularly on topics outside their control. Communications about mental health resources available should be positioned from an “in case it’s needed perspective,” without being connected to stats about high prevalence. Advertisers considering ways to support mental health may want to look beyond “awareness campaigns” and more toward programs and policies that support a healthier lifestyle (like how L.L. Bean went “off the grid” for a third year during Mental Health Awareness Month).
Brands can also align with movements to adjust social norms making it easier for parents to restrict youth access to social media. In Jonathan Haidt’s, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, he suggests four new norms to help reduce youth exposure to social media:
- No smartphones before high school
- No social media before 16
- Phone-free schools
- More independence, free play and responsibility in the real world
If brands are looking for new cause-related initiatives and want to help create momentum for these new norms, they can consider supporting charities and activities that promote in-person, free play opportunities for tweens and teens. It is very difficult for adolescents to spend time away from phones if it is their only lifeline to being social. They need a more enticing alternative.
Overall, even if a brand isn’t ready to support a mental health cause or share a campaign, all of us working in the advertising industry can still make an impact by embracing good, old-fashioned positive storytelling, sharing joy, happy endings, and success stories to inspire a greater sense of agency and optimism in our world, which trickles down to our youth. Content creators can avoid strategies that play into people’s fears just because it can be an effective strategy. We can embrace the responsible path with more constructive and empowering messages. We can set positive examples, model excitement and hope for the future, and generally put more light back into the world.
SUGGESTION #3: Be a Positive Example
In an industry with a reputation for being always-on, advertising professionals too often are not setting the best example for the next generation. Junior employees at work and our children at home are watching us living on our phones and constantly responding.
The reality is, we don't have to be living on our phones as professionals. In fact, research shows it’s better for our creativity if we aren’t. There is growing acceptance for being balanced with response times, especially after hours. Often, the greatest barrier is our own bad habits.
And if the industry can find ways to embrace healthy habits for work-life - this can have a profound trickle-down effect normalizing healthy behaviors. After all, if the creators are following healthy habits, then the work they produce is more likely to model it as well.
So take an inventory of your relationship with technology. Use it as a tool, but not as a “filler.” Small changes will likely have a profound impact on you, and those watching around you.
SUGGESTION #4: Keep the Conversation Going
There are nearly 14,000 marketing and advertising agencies in the U.S. employing close to 200,000 professionals. If social media companies want advertisers to give them money, could we and should we also demand safer environments online - protecting our children and also our brands’ reputations? Could we collectively agree on what we expect from social media platforms and make it known to them? Could the industry collectively demand regulation – either by platforms themselves or beyond? I don’t have the answer, but the possibility of taking collective action to effect change excites me, and perhaps there will be an opportunity in the future to collaborate on ways to make this happen.
I know that our industry has incredible power to capture interest, model behavior, shape opinion, and motivate action. I hope we can also all embrace our parts to protect youth mental health, and protect our brands at the same time.
Please let me know your thoughts/concerns/challenges related to these ideas, and if you have other suggestions for how marketers can be part of a healthier future for the next generation.
Susan English, SVP, Director of Strategic Communications, senglish@gatesmanagency.com
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