Entrepreneur unites young activists to make social media safe

The newly-formed Sustainable Media Center is intent on stopping companies from using algorithms to push damaging information to vulnerable youths, such as dark things like suicide methods. / Photo: Getty Images

A media entrepreneur is trying to connect young people disturbed by the impact of social media on mental health with older power players to fight for change in how tech companies do business.

The newly-formed Sustainable Media Center is intent on stopping companies from using algorithms to push damaging information to vulnerable youths, such as dark things like suicide methods.

Venture capitalist and trustee Bradley Tusk has seen it personally; he believes his daughter's eating disorder was made worse by what she saw online.

It's a long way from initial hopes that the internet would connect the world for more positive uses, said founder Steven Rosenbaum, former producer of “MTV News: Unfiltered, ” several documentaries and ex-leader of the NYC Media Lab.

“When you find that what you helped build is causing more harm than good, there's no way you can get up in the morning and not do anything about it,” Rosenbaum said.

'Immediate action to protect young people'

US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy in May called for immediate action to protect young people, noting that social media use is nearly universal, but its impact on mental health is not fully understood.

The Sustainable Media Center is not alone in this effort. The organisation Fairplay lobbies to stop tactics that manipulate children into spending too much time online.

Waituntil8th.org urges parents not to give children smartphones until they reach the eighth grade and to keep them off social media until they're at least 16.

The Sustainable Media Center is working with Columbia University to do a comprehensive review of research on the issue, Rosenbaum said. He wants to convene a summit of Gen Z leaders to plan strategy.

The organization has an initial operating budget of $1.5M, although only a quarter of that has been collected or pledged, he said.