Vivek Murthy

Dr. Vivek H. Murthy served as the 19th and 21st surgeon general of the United States from 2015 to 2017 and again from 2021 to 2025, under Presidents Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden.

After his first stint as surgeon general, Murthy appeared on various television and radio shows discussing the loneliness epidemic and wrote numerous articles on the subjects of loneliness and social isolation, as well as publishing his 2020 book “Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World”.

In his most recent tenure as surgeon general, Murthy increasingly expressed concern about the impact of social media on young users' mental health. In 2023, he released the The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on Social Media and Youth Mental Health. In a historic move, Murthy in 2024 further called for placing a tobacco-style warning label on social media platforms.