U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy has called on Congress to require warning labels similar to those on alcohol and cigarettes for social media platforms because of the danger they pose to the mental health of children.

"The mental health crisis among young people is an emergency — and social media has emerged as an important contributor," Murthy warned in an op-ed in the New York Times Monday. 

Murthy cited research that revealed teens who spend three hours a day on social media double their risk of anxiety and depression. Teens last summer spent an average of 4.8 hours on social media, he noted.

Murthy doesn't have the authority to require warning labels, but Congress does.

"It is time to require a surgeon general's warning label on social media platforms, stating that social media is associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents," Murthy wrote in his appeal to lawmakers.

"A surgeon general's warning label, which requires congressional action, would regularly remind parents and adolescents that social media has not been proved safe," he emphasized.  

Murthy pointed out that tobacco studies found that warning labels can "increase awareness and change behavior."

In the meantime, Murthy called on schools, parents and health care providers to help protect children from harmul social media exposure.

He also urged legislation to shield young people from online harassment, abuse and exploitation, and from exposure to extreme violence and sexual content — and to prevent platforms from collecting sensitive data from children.

Problems with social media are "not a failure of willpower and parenting; they are the consequence of unleashing powerful technology without adequate safety measures, transparency or accountability," Murthy emphasized.

"Now is the time to summon the will to act. Our children's well-being is at stake," he wrote.