Will Social Media Regulation Impact Video Games?

Is It All Just a Game – Will Social Media Regulation Impact Video Games?

Teen mental health has continued to decline and is prompting an acceleration in proposals to regulate online media consumption.

One in five high schoolers made a suicide plan in 2021, Vivek Murthy, U.S. Surgeon General, said.

Murthy voiced support Thursday for adding warnings on social media platforms for the danger they pose to children, much like the existing labels on cigarettes.

“I do think it would be appropriate … if Congress is willing to provide the legislative or regulatory authority to put that label on, then I’d certainly be willing to partner,”

“[Consumers] rely on us establishing standards and then enforcing those with manufacturers. These are incredibly complex platforms … and parents need help here to interpret and understand their safety.”

The real question is not the impact of social media (that seems clear), it is what the regulators will consider social media.

There is a real likelihood that if a game offers open forums or live talk it will be considered social media and, as such, open to regulation.

It will become very important now to start seperating the play elements of the game that show promise as mental health treatments from those secondary game mechanics that may harm vulnerable populations.

Source: https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2023/05/23/surgeon-general-issues-new-advisory-about-effects-social-media-use-has-youth-mental-health.html