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

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

#621

Post by NoPicklez »

vehemenz wrote: post #118
MonkeyMalarky wrote: post #6

I wonder if kids would still self diagnose after having witnessed first hand what those illnesses are like and what they do to someone you love.

There's no social capital to be gained by actually having the illness. Pretending you have it garners sympathy, elevates your voice, and ingratiates yourself into a community of like-minded people (most of whom also don't have the illness).

It reminds me of the flat earthers movement documentary "Behind the curve". Where the main actor in the documentary joined the movement and wrose through the ranks to the leader. This person was a bit of a social recluse before but now he met his wife, gained friends around the world and brought in an income.

He was asked if he was shown proof that would change his mind could he and he said he couldn't, because his entire identity was built around this belief. If he changed his mind he would lose everything.

This is one of the dangerous things about echo chambers and micro communities produced by social media, it gives people a global identity even if their identity is based on nonsense.

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

#623

Post by NoPicklez »

chaoticmass wrote: post #495

I don't see it mentioned very often, but the whole "record yourself doing this funny dance" aspect of TikTok is, I think, a huge portion of why this is happening and is what makes it more powerful than other forms of social media. Getting people used to imitating what they see on the app could also be programming their minds to consciously/subconsciously imitate other things they see on there as well.

There are varying types of content on TikTok, not all just "record yourself doing this funny dance". Perhaps that's where it all started, but it's grown significantly since then.

The problem with TikTok is that you have little control over what you see. All it takes is for you to stumble across an ADHD related post, engage with it and you're more likely to then see those types of posts again and again.

Anyone can have a voice on TikTok like other social media apps and ADHD in many social media circles seems to be an attention seeking type of content that makes people think "oh maybe I have it too". It's very similar to the classic scenario of people self diagnosing themselves with cancer, because they've googled it and believe they have some of the signs/symptoms.

I'm not saying that ADHD isn't real, but it is a type of diagnosis that is open to ambiguity unless appropriately diagnosed.

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

#624

Post by [deleted] »

mtlmtlmtlmtl wrote: post #349
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…

There's still a lot of discussion of this in the political discourse here in Norway, in fact I'd argue it's become increasingly more discussed as social media have taken over. Just recently, a law was passed requiring advertising that is edited to significantly change the physical appearance of people, to marked as such. One of the most common practices is editing to make a model's boobs look bigger, or her figure mo…

[deleted]

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

#626

Post by pseudalopex »

chaoticmass wrote: post #563
feoren wrote: post #550

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I downvoted you because this is completely unsubstantiated nonsensical speculation that boils down to "Kids these days!!". You sound like you would have protested against AD&D in the 80s and Harry Potter in the 90s for turning kids into Satanists, or violent video games in the early 00s for turning kids into school shooters. Same bullshit, different decade.

I fail to see the connection. The things you listed were all moral panics. I am not making an argument about the morality of TikTok. I'm commenting about the social and behavioural effects of TikTok and of Social Media in general.

The moral panics were about social and behavioral effects.

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

#627

Post by pseudalopex »

coding123 wrote: post #367
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…

The drug industry does the same thing. Has anyone else watched a anti-depression medicine commercial and suddenly felt they are depressed? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twhvtzd6gXA I mean watch this and tell me you don't want what they're selling.

I don't want what they're selling. I don't feel exhausted, hopeless, and anxious. And I don't want dry mouth, insomnia, sexual side effects, diarrhea, nausea, and sleepiness.

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

#628

Post by z9znz »

AlexandrB wrote: post #113
z9znz wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect it is worse now than when some of us were kids. Some of us had less exposure to stuff that could mess us up because there was less stuff available. After all, in my early youth we had only three TV stations. I also see a parallel with HN and developers with impostor syndrome. Before HN, and even before Slashdot, I was a good developer. I wrote some impressive C, C++, and Java code that went into some seriou…

I think the worst effects of social media are exactly the same as the worst effects of traditional media like TV: unrealistic body images, the veneration of consumption, and "aspirational" content that makes people feel like they're not good enough. Basically the stuff that fuels capitalism.

I think Capitalism is too simple or broad a term. It really encompasses a lot of ideas into a single word, and some of those ideas are natural and admirable while others are generally counterproductive.

You could say that someone who performs a dance well and gains positive attention from an audience is expressing capitalism. The idea that putting work plus talent to get appreciation (in monetary or other forms) is not necessarily bad.

I think what we currently experience as capitalism is a skewed, min/max version which loses sight of the main value and focuses too much on simple financial return.

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

#629

Post by z9znz »

z9znz wrote: post #76
ominous wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> video games cause violence They don't. Nothing harmful can come out of reading a book. > DnD leads to Satanism It can't, ever. No subculture can wander so close to satanism that would lead their elements to coopt it. > TV rots brains It doesn't. There's no way of consuming TV that has a negative impact on people. > movies lead to illiteracy They don't. Having the choice of a movie never prevented anyone from having…

[flagged]

Downvoted with no replies... does that mean "it's true but I don't like to read it", or does it mean "it creates a cognitive dissonance that I can't deal with, and I don't know how to respond... so I downvote and hope it goes away"?

This is HN. Step up and disagree with words, assuming your brain has not turned completely to 4th grade mush.

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

#630

Post by lbrito »

faeriechangling wrote: post #139

I've done a lot of thinking about this issue, and there's two topics I notice. First, disability has become a status symbol in certain circles. Second, the huge rise in self-diagnosed disability. On the latter point, these kids are acting out these disabilities with such sincerity and 24/7 consistency that they effectively are disabled for all practical purposes, it's just that the diagnosis might be different than t…

>self diagnosed

I was listening to a cbc program about autism on adults the other day. One person being interviewed stated she "identified as autistic". She had done some online test that said she had 70 out of 100 autism traits or something.

I was incredulous. Are these people for real?

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