The Surgeon General’s Office is telling young people to touch grass, in internet lingo, as part of a new warning linking excessive screen time to developmental delays, poor academic outcomes and mental health issues.
Released Wednesday, the 43-page advisory calls on Americans of all ages to cut back on scrolling and “live real life.” In particular, it looks at how kids and teenagers are being harmed by technologies like social media, which research has connected to depression and anxiety, and AI chatbots.
Children are often exposed to digital devices by the time they’re toddlers, with average screen time reaching more than eight hours a day by their teenage years, data cited by the Surgeon General’s Office shows.
Parents are urged to delay introducing screens to their children as long as possible and, once they do, set age-appropriate time and content restrictions. The advisory says phones and tablets can become addictive if left unchecked and calls for a “detox” in some cases.
“This advisory equips parents, schools and communities with clear, science-based strategies to reclaim healthy habits, reduce harm and help make our children healthy again,” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement.
Most doctors and researchers won’t find anything in the advisory they don’t already know. The document largely lines up with guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
“This just reinforces everything we’ve been talking about in pediatrics about the dangers of screen time for kids,” said Dr. Joseph Aracri, pediatrics chair at Allegheny Health Network.
But it does put a spotlight on digital dependence in young people. Advisories from the Surgeon General’s Office are reserved for “significant public health challenges that demand the American people’s immediate attention,” according to a government website. They’re assembled through an informal review of existing research, a less rigorous standard than what’s used in reports or calls to action from the office.
This particular advisory is authored by staffers, as the U.S. has been without a Surgeon General since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025.
The advisory acknowledges that screens aren’t all bad, but they should be used to “find joy.” Talking to friends and family members, exploring hobbies and finding like-minded online communities are listed as positive examples.
Problems emerge when screens are used to emotionally regulate or begin to crowd out real-life activities and obligations, according to the advisory. It notes physical issues can arise, too, like trouble sleeping because of the blue light emitted from screens.
Aracri said he’s noticed an uptick in patients with severely underdeveloped motor skills.
“They can’t sign a name,” he said. “They can barely hold a pencil at times.”
The advisory comes less than two years after Dr. Vivek Murthy, the surgeon general under the Biden administration, called for warning labels on social media platforms similar to what’s placed on tobacco and alcohol products. Such a step would require congressional action, which has not materialized.