The surgeon general’s office on Wednesday issued a warning about the dangers of screen time for young people, linking excessive time online to worse sleep issues, anxiety, depression, alcohol use and other health harms.
The advisory calls on children and adolescents to “live real life” and go outside, and for parents to discuss boundaries around technology and to delay screen time for “as long as possible.” It highlighted social media platforms as a top concern, but also pointed to A.I. chatbots and gambling platforms as part of the “digital ecosystem” driving concerning levels of screen time. The report also recommends that schools ban phones during classes, and that doctors ask about screen use during annual checkups.
Screen time is a frequent target of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who will unveil the report at an event on Wednesday in Iowa, where a law enacted last year limited cellphone use in schools.
The report was produced by the office of the surgeon general, however, that post has remained empty since January 2025. The Trump administration has withdrawn its first two nominees for surgeon general, Dr. Casey Means and Dr. Janette Nesheiwat. The administration’s new nominee, Dr. Nicole Saphier, has yet to appear before the Senate.
Some studies have linked too much time online with health harms, like mental health issues. But much of the existing research does not suggest that social media use is a major predictor of whether a child will develop mental health issues, said Candice Odgers, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, who has studied the health effects of screen use. Rather, she said, it suggests that children who are already struggling with mental health or other issues are more likely to spend time online.
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Dr. John Torous, director of digital psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, said the report “comes across as a little too certain” on the evidence. He said that it is difficult to make a blanket statement on whether screen time is beneficial or harmful for children. As the advisory itself notes, young people can also reap benefits from time online, such as new friendships, he added.
Researchers said that some of the strategies the report called for were common sense and that experts have recommended them for years. The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued similar guidelines. Dr. Vivek Murthy, who served as surgeon general during the Biden administration, went so far as to call for a warning label on social media platforms because of their potential to harm adolescent mental health.
But screen time remains high. The advisory notes that starting around age 8, children spend an average of four or more hours per day.
Dr. Odgers said the advisory may represent more of a winning political talking point than a meaningful shift in policy. “They couch it in things people can agree with, like, go play in parks,” she said, noting that polls show bipartisan support for school cellphone bans.
The report was written by staffers in the surgeon general’s office and the Department of Health and Human Services, including Mr. Kennedy’s close adviser, Stefanie Spear, and Dr. Stephanie Haridopolos, a senior adviser and chief of staff for the surgeon general’s office. (The authors noted that the report was created with the help of a chatbot, “for text editing purposes.”)
On Tuesday, Mr. Kennedy said that Dr. Haridopolos, a family medicine physician and the wife of Mike Haridopolos, a Republican representative from Florida, would take on some of the surgeon general’s duties, including promoting health guidance.
Dani Blum is a health reporter for The Times.
The post A Vacant Surgeon General’s Office Issues a Warning About Screen Time appeared first on New York Times.
