Utah GOP Gov. Cox Says Social Media ‘Absolutely’ Contributes to Anxiety, Depression Rates: ‘It’s Obvious to Anyone’

Republican Governor of Utah and Chair of the National Governors Association, Spencer Cox, believes that social media "absolutely" contributes to increasing rates in an anxiety and depression.

“I think it’s obvious to anyone who spends any time on social media or has kids — I have four kids. I’ve seen what’s happened to them as they’ve spent time on social media, and their friends, that this is absolutely causing these terrible increases, these hockey stick-like increases that we are seeing in anxiety, depression, and self-harm amongst our youth,” Cox said during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press" that aired over the weekend.

In Utah earlier last year, legislators enacted a law to require age verification on social media apps to access their accounts if the user is under 18. The legislation is facing legal battles from a trade group that represents Meta, TikTok and X as they have argued it infringes on the First Amendment rights of their users.

The age verification laws will go into effect in 2024.

“They know this is harming our kids,” Cox said of big tech companies. “They’re covering it up. They’re doing everything possible to take advantage of our kids for their own gain. And we’re not going to stand for that. And so we’re still pushing forward.”

Colorado's Democratic Governor Jared Polis, who was present for the joint interview, agreed with Cox on the impact of social media on mental health, but indicated parents should be the ones in charge of their children's usage.

“I think the responsibility belongs with parents, not the government,” Polis said. Later adding, "I certainly agree with the diagnosis that Governor Cox did, and I have some sympathy for that approach. But I do think at the end of the day, the government can’t parent kids.”