The JUST Report: The Big Question Facing Social Media
This week’s call by the U.S. Surgeon General for tobacco-style warning labels on social media products is the latest chapter in one of the defining corporate justness narratives of our time: the impact of social media on the mental health of children and teens.
It’s something that we at JUST have grappled with over the years. Public polling suggests that 86% of Americans are concerned about the impact of social media on children; that 50% of parents of children younger than 18 feel their child(ren)’s mental health has suffered because of social media use; and 83% of likely voters believe social media platforms should be required to protect their minor users.
In step with the polling, bipartisan political pressure for action is growing. For example, Over 40 states are suing Meta claiming the company designed addictive features which resulted in serious mental health problems for children.
As of writing, Meta has emphasized its position that Congress should pass legislation which would require parental consent to join social media if a child is under the age of 16. Currently most social media sites require the account holder to be at least 13-years-old. At the same time, big tech firms have implemented safety features to support a safe, positive online experience for teens.
The question at the center of this is a just one: how will these firms address a critical stakeholder issue that is central to their business model while balancing their near and long term profits?
Be Well,
Martin
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Quote of the Week
“I want to touch on AI to close. There’s a lot of buzz about AI, we have 1,000 wildfire cameras in the state of California, and of the 1,000, 600 of them exist in our footprint. AI was enabled on all 1,000 cameras last year and the results are tremendous. AI is picking up wildfire hits faster than humans…so that’s a very effective post-ignition layer of protection that we intend to move forward and install more cameras.”
- PG&E (PCG ) SVP of Wildfire & Emergency Operations Mark Quinlan in the company’s latest earnings call, speaking to the intersection of AI and safety the industry is experiencing.
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JUST AI
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Chart of the Week
This chart comes from this Washington Post article highlighting the latest Ipsos polling that shows a majority of Americans support DEI initiatives, and even more so when they’re given a description of what those initiatives entail.
