Twin Cities nonprofit wants help from teens to create social media warning labels

February 12, 2025 / 5:20 PM CST 

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — More than half of teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 use popular social media sites like TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat, according to the Pew Research Center.

While social media allows teenagers to connect, safety advocates say it also presents harmful content.

Logging on to social media can bring teens to one of the most dangerous places in their lives, and it’s more than just cyberbullying, said Erich Mische, CEO of SAVE, a Bloomington-based nonprofit that for 36 years has been dedicated to suicide prevention.

“We are seeing kids being sextorted, we are seeing kids being sex trafficked, we are seeing kids being sold illegal drugs,” said Mische.

His organization is helping to launch a global campaign for young people and others to submit ideas for social media warning labels.

The goal is to educate younger users about the harmful content Mische said users see every minute.

“We look at this as an opportunity to leverage a message and a call to action, to tell parents and kids that look, we’re not trying to stop you from using social media platforms, but what we want to make sure is when you enter that virtual world, you are aware of those dangers that are there,” said Mische.

Watch the segment and read the rest of the story at cbsnews.com.