TikTok videos leave teens thinking they have rare mental disorders (2021) • Hacker News Board

Re: TikTok videos leave teens thinking they have rare mental disorders (2021)

#241

Post by JediLuke » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 2:47 PM UTC

rlv-dan wrote: post #147

MichaelCollins wrote: post #126

It feels as though our society has collectively forgotten that mental illness can be socially transmissible. I remember in 00s there seemed to be mainstream acknowledgement and concern that anorexia and distorted perception of one's body can be socially transmissible, ripping through teen social cliches particularly, and could be spread through the internet by "pro-ana" websites and chat groups. I don't hear much abo…

It's taboo to criticise such movements because by extension you criticise those that actually have the illness. And some movements have grown quite powerful politically. If you allude that it's problematic to let children change sex, you are painted as anti lgbtixxxx. Activism has won against science.

No post body was provided.

Re: TikTok videos leave teens thinking they have rare mental disorders (2021)

#242

Post by nonameiguess » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 2:47 PM UTC

giraffe_lady wrote: post #100

LocalPCGuy wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> doesn't everyone respond extremely well to stimulants? Not really - despite their popularity (as you say, heavily sought after), studies have shown that there really isn't a significant cognitive boost for neurotypical folks that take these stimulants[1]. While they have a significant effect for those with ADHD because their brain is not providing the chemicals properly, and these drugs enable that. They aren't boo…

Interesting, their use for that is so common I assumed it was a real effect. People who use them that way definitely think it helps. Prescription stimulants are also pretty powerful mood boosters though so I imagine it's very easy to assume you're smarter while on them just because they make you feel great. Anyway thanks for the info, definitely upends an assumption I'd had for years.

I was a biology major several decades ago now, which is a major dominated by extremely competitive pre-med students trying to get into Harvard Medical School. Taking speed during finals week was extremely common. I only tried it once personally, and I can't say it helped me concentrate better, because I could already concentrate perfectly fine to begin with. But I could not concentrate for 16-20 hours a day, every day for an entire week. With speed, you can do that.

Re: TikTok videos leave teens thinking they have rare mental disorders (2021)

#243

Post by BurningFrog » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 2:47 PM UTC

originalvichy wrote: post #167

I can't stop seeing the heavy gender skew in online communities centred around these topics. Both the sexual orientation as well as mental disorder communities like this seem to be most popular among teenager or young adult women. As a man I don't know how teenage hormones affect girls different than boys at that age, so I can't even give an uneducated guess as to what could be the source of this attraction towards q…

Women have always thought and talked more about their feelings than men.

It's probably how we're built to some extent.

Re: TikTok videos leave teens thinking they have rare mental disorders (2021)

#244

Post by Auracle » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 2:49 PM UTC

giraffe_lady wrote: post #69

DoughnutHole wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well the problem with ADHD is the same problem of pretty much all psychological disorders - diagnosis is only ever really fuzzily falsifiable. You get diagnosed with it if you tick enough of the boxes of behaviours/dysfunctions associated with it - you can fall short of a diagnosis by one behaviour and still be in a very similar condition to a diagnosed person, or tick enough boxes but fall short based on the diagnos…

I can credibly claim stimulant treatment for adhd saved my life so I'm not at all skeptical of its value in this context. But doesn't everyone respond extremely well to stimulants? They're some of the most common recreational drugs and neurotypical people seek them out for performance enhancement on cognitive tasks.

I’m on stimulants for idiopathic hypersomnia. While they give me energy and motivation, my mind is significantly more scattered when I’m on them. I take Vyvanse daily but have Adderall as a booster and the latter in particular does that to me. I certainly didn’t have the “oh, this is how my brain is supposed to work” moment that I’ve read a lot of people with ADHD having when first taking them.

I’ve also heard that some people with ADHD sleep better on stimulants, which definitely isn’t the case for everyone else.

Re: TikTok videos leave teens thinking they have rare mental disorders (2021)

#245

Post by DiggyJohnson » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 2:49 PM UTC

alphabettsy wrote: post #237

rlv-dan wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's taboo to criticise such movements because by extension you criticise those that actually have the illness. And some movements have grown quite powerful politically. If you allude that it's problematic to let children change sex, you are painted as anti lgbtixxxx. Activism has won against science.

Quoted post unavailable.

I think that must be an exaggeration, and a dangerous one at that.

Re: TikTok videos leave teens thinking they have rare mental disorders (2021)

#246

Post by quasarj » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 2:49 PM UTC

jnovek wrote: post #26

As an adult who struggles with ADHD that can be severely impairing, I’ve learned quite a few tricks from TikTok’s ADHD advocates. It’s definitely a coin with two sides. Edit: I’ve also learned to accept things about me that I can’t change. For example, I have a better outcome if I plan to be distracted rather than trying to fight my way through distraction.

I personally hate seeing all the ADHD stuff, I feel like most of those people are faking/wrong as well. But I don't know, maybe I just have ADHD? I just feel like they are always like "this is life with ADHD" and I'm like "what? that's just life? isn't that how everyone is?"

Re: TikTok videos leave teens thinking they have rare mental disorders (2021)

#247

Post by MichaelCollins » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 2:49 PM UTC

alphabettsy wrote: post #237

rlv-dan wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's taboo to criticise such movements because by extension you criticise those that actually have the illness. And some movements have grown quite powerful politically. If you allude that it's problematic to let children change sex, you are painted as anti lgbtixxxx. Activism has won against science.

Quoted post unavailable.

No post body was provided.

Re: TikTok videos leave teens thinking they have rare mental disorders (2021)

#248

Post by jrm4 » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 2:50 PM UTC

washbrain wrote: post #148

jrm4 wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm skeptical of all of them in their current form. It helps bolster my argument. I acknowledge that I might be wrong, and if it inspires someone to call me out in an effective way, great! Now, ask yourself -- in a forum that's supposed to be about discussion and answering questions, why do you think it's very important to police how I use punctuation?

It's not policing, I'm suggesting that in a dialogue the use of scare quotes signals a negative interest in actually engaging in discussion. Typically, scare quotes will be interpreted as someone who has already made their mind up and won't be moved. Compare: "I'm skeptical about the prevalence of autism in teens." "I'm skeptical about the prevalence of "autism" in teens." The first absolutely conveys your skepticism…

The sneer is intentional, esp for "neurodivergent." It strikes me as something as so nebulous as to perhaps be useless. Could be wrong.

Re: TikTok videos leave teens thinking they have rare mental disorders (2021)

#249

Post by qzx_pierri » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 2:50 PM UTC

azemetre wrote: post #196

qzx_pierri wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Banning "undesirable topics" isn't the solution, but only a band-aid. We need to teach children critical thinking skills and allow them to make their own decisions. The former might be easier, but the latter is the most beneficial in the long run.

Children literally don't have the developed cognitive capabilities to critically think, nor should they be making their own decisions every time. This is an absolutely inane suggestion. I don't know when it started happening, but why do we continue to let these companies off the hook for their absolutely terrible externalities? Banning these topics if your platform allows children, preteens, etc is absolutely an effe…

> Children literally don't have the developed cognitive capabilities to critically think, nor should they be making their own decisions every time

[citation needed]

Also, since children don't have the cognitive abilities to critically think, maybe some responsibility should fall onto the parent? You can deflect blame all you want and call for TikTok to go around swinging their banhammer, but your "think of the children" alarmism is short sighted. It's impossible for TikTok to blanket ban an entire topic without causing major damage in the process.

I won't move into "mind reading" territory, but I suspect people who are so trigger happy to ban things online to "protect children" have a guilty conscience due to the lack of effort they put into their own child's development.

The internet boogeyman can only influence your child so much... Raise your kids, people!

Re: TikTok videos leave teens thinking they have rare mental disorders (2021)

#250

Post by jquery » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 2:51 PM UTC

rlv-dan wrote: post #147

MichaelCollins wrote: post #126

It feels as though our society has collectively forgotten that mental illness can be socially transmissible. I remember in 00s there seemed to be mainstream acknowledgement and concern that anorexia and distorted perception of one's body can be socially transmissible, ripping through teen social cliches particularly, and could be spread through the internet by "pro-ana" websites and chat groups. I don't hear much abo…

It's taboo to criticise such movements because by extension you criticise those that actually have the illness. And some movements have grown quite powerful politically. If you allude that it's problematic to let children change sex, you are painted as anti lgbtixxxx. Activism has won against science.

It was never taboo to criticize pro-ana groups.

Being lgbt isn’t a mental illness. Not medically speaking, anyway. Maybe they were considered such in the past. Go far enough back and we used bloodletting as a common treatment, our understanding generally improves with time. I have no desire to go back to an era where lgbt people were persecuted.

With respect to your other point. “Children” is a broad category. Pre-pubescents are not “changing sex”. Instead we are being encouraged to respect their gender identity, and not reject gender-non conforming behaviors [1]. Teens may take puberty blockers to buy time, this also isn’t “changing sex”. Perhaps HRT is what you mean by changing sex, and yes some teenagers are able to access the HRT of their preferred gender. The science on this is pretty clear, that suicide rates of trans people is drastically lowered when in a gender-supportive environment, and their mental well-being is infinitely better.

[1] I implore you to watch this video: https://youtu.be/h60YLGDJ6n0

Edit: despite what a child comment I cannot reply to is saying, while over-medicalization and misdiagnosis is definitely something to watch out for (being gender-nonconforming is not the same as being trans and this is why education about lgbt issues is important), the vast majority of transgender youth do not suffer from an overabundance of societal and medical acceptance for their issues.

Puberty blockers are indeed not a drug to prescribe lightly. Same with SRS, it should not be handed out like candy. People who have only had gender dysphoria for a short time may indeed be better served by a “wait and see” approach. All of these things I can agree with.

If you are under the impression that being trans isn’t stigmatized enough and all the kids might turn trans if we aren’t careful, I’m simply going to disagree with you. There’s no evidence of this.