FORT MYERS, Fla. — In an interview over the weekend, US Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy says he believes that age 13 is too early for kids to be using social media, basing that on data he says he's seen and that safety measures should be implemented.
Many parents in Southwest Florida agree, like Fort Myers resident, Matthew Royer, who says he's already been having the social media conversation with his wife for his two girls who are six and two.
"Maybe 16, but probably 18 as long as we can control it the best we can," Royer said as he played with his girls at the park, "We kind of learned and grew up with it, we’re adapting as we go," so now he's protecting his girls the best he can.
With things like tablets and apps so easily accessible to kids, Royer says he makes sure to go through everything before his girls get a hold of it and then it goes through his wife who gives it another look before they can safely watch or play on electronics.
Like many parents in the country, the safety of their children is at the top of the list, like US Surgeon General, Dr. Murthy, who says social media can have harmful impacts on children's development " This skewed and often distorted environment of social media often does a disservice to many of those children."
Adding that addiction to social media can affect kids into adulthood, making them question their self-worth and in future relationships.
Royer says he’d rather be cautious with his girls from a young age by limiting screen time and what his girls are exposed to, "You definitely have to be careful with it, I can only imagine little brains, get more addicted to what they see and what they watch."
Currently, popular social media platforms like, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter say to join, you must be at least 13.
