Surgeon General: If Your Children Are on Social Media, I Would Create Tech Free Zones in Their Day

GUTHRIE: “I mean, kids are already hooked. Frankly, parents are hooked too, it’s not a fair fight. OK. I have a 7 and 9-year-old, so I guess I’m asking for a friend, you have 6 and a 7-year-old. When do you think is the right age to give a smartphone, and when is the right age to allow social media?”
MURTHY: “Well, here’s — here’s how we’re approaching it for our kids. My kids are young and we’re starting to have these discussions actually among parents in our school as well. But I would delay the use of social media for kids until at least after Middle School. I would also if your children are on social media, I would create tech free zones in their day to protect sleep, in-person interaction, and physical activity, that could look like not allowing technology at the dinner table, when you’re eating together. It could look like taking technology away one hour before bedtime, and then giving it back to kids in the morning. But we need to do this. It’s not easy. And trust me, I know this, because many parents kind of come up to me and say, ‘Look, my child is saying to me that they’re the only one not on social media.’ And they don’t want to be left out and they want an account. Well, this is why as parents, we need to start talking about this more openly partnering with each other and helping one another because when we make pacts to actually enforce these kinds of rules together, it’s easier. And right now too many parents are struggling alone, feeling ashamed, feeling like they’re failing as parents, and not realizing that all of us are struggling with the same questions.”
GUTHRIE: “We are indeed. Well, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, we could talk for a long time about this. Hope we’ll speak again about it. Thank you for being here. Appreciate it.”