Social media fuels the youth mental health crisis

US surgeon general issues a social media warning for youth; A cross-border raid targets Russia.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

How social media affects young minds

Indranil Mukherjee/AFP via Getty Images

• Social media is fueling a youth mental health crisis, according to US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. [Vox / Sara Morrison]
• The government found nearly 95 percent of 13- to 17-year-olds say they’ve been exposed to harmful content on social media. And 40 percent of kids aged 8 to 12 said they used the platforms even though the minimum age for most sites is 13. [CNN / Meg Tirrell]
• Research suggests youth who spend more than three hours per day on social media are twice as likely to experience mental health issues; a recent survey of teens found they used the sites for an average of 3.5 hours each day. [NBC News / Erika Edwards and Hallie Jackson]
• The report recommends tech companies do more research on how their platforms impact youth, share the results with independent researchers, and make products that benefit users’ mental health. [CNBC / Lauren Feiner]
• The report also urges lawmakers to enact stricter safeguards and data privacy protections for youth and suggests families set tech boundaries in the meantime. [Stat / Ryan Fitzgerald]

📍 If you read just one story

Vox’s Dylan Scott explains the loneliness crisis impacting Americans and how the surgeon general suggests fixing it. [Vox / Dylan Scott]

A cross-border attack on Russia

• Moscow on Tuesday claims it crushed a cross-border assault launched by Ukrainian saboteurs in Russia’s Belgorod region that left one civilian dead and 12 others injured. [AP / Susie Blann]
• Two anti-Kremlin Russian groups claimed responsibility for the attack on residential and government infrastructure. Russian officials evacuated residents to other areas amid the assault. [CNN / Rob Picheta]
• Ukraine said it had no involvement in the incursion and said it was carried out by Russians unhappy with the Kremlin’s policies. [Al Jazeera]
• A cross-border attack might hurt Russia ahead of Ukraine’s planned counteroffensive, but it is unlikely to be welcomed by Kyiv’s Western allies who worry about escalation. [BBC / James Gregory and Frank Gardner]

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95 percent of luxury brands saw growth in 2022 despite supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, and inflation that has roiled the broader economy. [Vox / Whizy Kim]

• Brazil, the world’s largest chicken exporter, declared a 180-day state of animal health emergency to tackle avian flu discovered in wild birds. [Reuters / Ana Mano]
• E. Jean Carroll, the writer who recently won a sexual assault and defamation case against former President Donald Trump, is seeking at least $10 million in additional damages for comments he made during a CNN town hall. [NPR / Becky Sullivan]
• Guam is bracing for Super Typhoon Mawar, which could bring 165-mph winds and a catastrophic storm surge to the Pacific island. [ABC News / Meredith Deliso and Max Golembo]

“Number one, it makes them feel worse about themselves; number two, it makes them feel worse about their friendships; but number three, they can’t get off of it.”

[Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on teens’ struggles with social media / CNN]

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