Research says, apparently, that Prop 65 has actually been affective.

> The researchers analyzed concentrations of 11 chemicals placed on the Proposition 65 warning list and monitored by the CDC between 1999 and 2016. They included several types of phthalates, chemicals used to make plastics flexible; chloroform, a toxic byproduct from disinfecting water with chlorine; and toluene, a hazardous substance found in vehicle exhaust.

> They found that the majority of samples had significantly lower concentrations of these chemicals after their listing. But the levels didn’t just decline in California, they fell nationwide. [1]

Unfortunately, the NIH website [2] where the study is hosted is no longer operational. I don't think certain people want to support scientific inquiry. Maybe someone else can find the study text?

[1] https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2024-11-11/study-d...

[2] https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/EHP13956

Great! I'm sure they'll be as effective as tobacco warnings are!

Labels on products designed to be addictive like modern social media isn’t a silver bullet but it’s an important first start.

You’re right though that it’s going to take far bigger things like antitrust action and fining companies for making misleading statements about the health consequences and purposes of their products.

Another way this problem can be attacked is by changing the cultural perspective around working at companies like Meta.

There was a time where it was socially acceptable to work at s tobacco company. People would proudly tell their family that they work in marketing for tobacco companies but now? When have you ever heard someone tell you they work for big tobacco?

If the government mandated that social media had to have pictures of neckbeard nests in people’s feeds with warnings that this could happen to you with repeated social media use I bet the people who work at Meta would be a laughing stock in their social circles which would go a long ways to disrupting the pipeline of people willing to destroy our society for a quick buck.

Parent of young adults (recent former teens) here.

Anecdotal, but I can assure you that no-one in their cohort feels that social media makes a positive contribution to their mental health. Neither did their teachers. The ones I know of tend to try to actively avoid it.

I know of older adults (late 20s / early 30s) who have had similarly negative experiences with anxiety and addictive engagement.

Social "science" be social science.

Not insinuating anything, but when it comes to such a hot topic, and such a hot take, maybe you should disclose you worked at Meta (Instagram) for 3 years. Again, I'm not accusing anyone of anything, god forbid. Studies usually disclose source of funding and sources of conflict, and people disclose owning stocks when discussing economy, it seems like a good idea.

what evidence have you found that in?

A meta-analysis> https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12108867/

Results: The majority of studies linked social media use to adverse mental health outcomes, particularly depression and anxiety. However, the relationship was complex, with evidence suggesting that problematic use and passive consumption of social media were most strongly associated with adverse effects. In contrast, some studies highlighted positive aspects, including enhanced social support and reduced isolation. The mental health impact of social media use, specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic, was mixed, with the full range of neutral, negative, and positive effects reported.

> Social media platforms with infinite scrolling, auto-play and algorithmic feeds will be required to display warning labels about their potential harm to young users’ mental health under a new law, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced on Friday.

https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-signs-legis...

> Legislation S4505/A5346, under the chapter amendment, requires social media platforms that offer addictive feeds, auto play or infinite scroll to post warning labels on their platforms.

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S4505

   § 1520. DEFINITIONS. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS ARTICLE,  THE  FOLLOWING
 TERMS SHALL HAVE THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS:
   1.  "ADDICTIVE  FEED"  SHALL  MEAN  AS  DEFINED  IN SUBDIVISION ONE OF
 SECTION FIFTEEN HUNDRED OF THIS CHAPTER.
   2. "ADDICTIVE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM"  SHALL  MEAN  A  WEBSITE,  ONLINE
 SERVICE, ONLINE APPLICATION, OR MOBILE APPLICATION THAT PRIMARILY SERVES
 AS  A MEDIUM FOR COVERED USERS TO INTERACT WITH MEDIA GENERATED BY OTHER
 USERS AND WHICH OFFERS OR PROVIDES COVERED USERS AN ADDICTIVE FEED, PUSH
 NOTIFICATIONS, AUTOPLAY,  INFINITE  SCROLL,  AND/OR  LIKE  COUNTS  AS  A
 SIGNIFICANT  PART  OF  THE  SERVICES  PROVIDED  BY  SUCH WEBSITE, ONLINE
 SERVICE, ONLINE APPLICATION, OR MOBILE  APPLICATION.  "ADDICTIVE  SOCIAL
 MEDIA  PLATFORM" SHALL NOT INCLUDE ANY SUCH SERVICE OR APPLICATION WHICH
 THE ATTORNEY GENERAL DETERMINES OFFERS THE FEATURES DESCRIBED HEREIN FOR
 A VALID PURPOSE UNRELATED TO PROLONGING USE OF SUCH PLATFORM.

   7.  "LIKE  COUNTS" SHALL MEAN THE QUANTIFICATION AND PUBLIC DISPLAY OF
 POSITIVE VOTES, SUCH AS BUT NOT LIMITED TO THOSE EXPRESSED VIA  A  HEART
 OR  THUMBS-UP  ICON, ATTACHED TO A PIECE OF MEDIA GENERATED BY A COVERED
 USER.

HN doesn't have push notifications, autoplay, infinite scroll, or like counts.

"Addictive feed" is poorly defined.

---

Edit: The harmful nature of social media is something that HN has recognized for well over a decade. There is a feature "noprocrast" to help manage this if you do have this problem.

From 2010:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1492902

   7 Nov: Anti-procrastination features

   Like email, social news sites can be dangerously addictive. So the latest version of Hacker News has a feature to let you limit your use of the site. There are three new fields in your profile, noprocrast, maxvisit, and minaway. (You can edit your profile by clicking on your username.) Noprocrast is turned off by default. If you turn it on by setting it to "yes," you'll only be allowed to visit the site for maxvisit minutes at a time, with gaps of minaway minutes in between. The defaults are 20 and 180, which would let you view the site for 20 minutes at a time, and then not allow you back in for 3 hours. You can override noprocrast if you want, in which case your visit clock starts over at zero.

> auto play or infinite scroll

I don't think HN has either of these.

these sorts of comments always make me laugh considering where they are posted.

in before: "HN isn't social media!"

A parasite that turns its host into a zombie.

Reading the title, my mind immediately drifted to the thought that there should be mental health warnings for living in a place like New York.

You're kidding, right? Social media is democracy now? Health warnings are fascism?

ya we should take health warnings off of smokes. And alcohol. Also we should get rid of mandatory seat belts. And restrictions on lead. And asbestos. I mean we dont want to coddle people and remove personal choice right?

You dont need to become hysterical, just look at the data. There's loads coming to light about the deleterious health effects of social media, that's not the case for books.

You seem unable to tell the difference between heroin and aspirin.