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Social media can be a ‘profound risk’ to youth, surgeon general warns

nytimes.com

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Re: Social media can be a ‘profound risk’ to youth, surgeon general warns

#161

Post by pixl97 »

bart_spoon wrote: post #62
swader999 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isolating them from their peers can be just as mentally devastating. I don't think there is a good solution to this.

Not being on Tiktok is not social isolation nor is it mentally devastating. I think many here are projecting their own addictions when they make these hyperbolic assertions.

And conversely without understanding the isolations modern children experience that your counterassertions fall short explaining the current situation we're in.

If your solution is "go play outside with other kids" and the park is empty because all other kids are busy doing isolated things or on tic tok, then you have a problem.

Re: Social media can be a ‘profound risk’ to youth, surgeon general warns

#162

Post by bart_spoon »

andrewmcwatters wrote: post #52

I get it, I agree with it, but I also grew up with unfettered access to the Internet during a period of time when the World Wide Web was growing and maturing and you saw a lot of stuff you shouldn’t have as a kid. It seems like extreme helicoptering to restrict your children from things like this that are in the world and it’s an easy way out. Hey! All of a sudden you don’t have to parent. Some software can do it for…

You could be suffering from survivorship bias

Re: Social media can be a ‘profound risk’ to youth, surgeon general warns

#163

Post by youreincorrect »

standardUser wrote: post #124
youreincorrect wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They can deal with it. In middle school, I was called a faggot, relentlessly, for not owning a Jansport backpack . I am 100% serious. They'll find friends, I'm pretty sure of it.

[flagged]

Children suffer. Adults suffer. Everyone suffers. I'm left with choosing which suffering my daughter will incur more of, either suffering "isolation" in making it harder for her to find friends by disallowing her from using social media for some time, or suffering the body image and other mental health and emotional disorders that could come from too much social media use at an early age. To some extent, I would love to give her the choice between the two herself, but most parents are going to be protective about certain things and make decisions like these for their children.

Also, my point wasn't even that I suffered therefore she should as well. My point was that children will bully each other over the most capricious shit imaginable, including whether or not you have the right backpack. At the time, I wished my mom would have just bought me a Jansport backpack (she wouldn't because we were poor), and now I look back on it as silly (and I'd guess those same bullies would have found another reason to make fun of me, like not having Nike shoes).

Further, having a smartphone and Instagram or Tiktok account aren't magical antidotes to social isolation at a young age.

But yes, I overcame my own suffering fairly easily.

Re: Social media can be a ‘profound risk’ to youth, surgeon general warns

#164

Post by pixl97 »

omginternets wrote: post #95
hammyhavoc wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Little league? Social media? Are we talking children or teenagers? What's frequently missed is that most organization of meet-ups, birthday parties, talking to romantic interests, going to concerts et al, all happens on social media and in group chats now, and has done for the best part of fifteen years in the West. For the prior generation, if you aren't online, you aren't cool, and you won't know about cool things…

>What's frequently missed is that most organization of meet-ups, birthday parties, talking to romantic interests, going to concerts et al, all happens on social media and in group chats now, and has done for the best part of fifteen years in the West. Yeah, no. People still talk to each other. I leave it to you to exercise some adaptability and find suitable workarounds. This is a small problem. I guarantee you that…

>People still talk to each other.

At Church on Sunday? No, that has collapsed.

At other social civic meetings... um, no not there.

Social gathering and civic interaction in the US has become highly commercialized and put into non-public places such as social media.

Re: Social media can be a ‘profound risk’ to youth, surgeon general warns

#165

Post by citizenkeen »

zachturn wrote: post #147
dundercoder wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've worked in tech for 20+ years and I have 4 young kids. We allow our teenager use of a locked down smartphone, with a clearly explained zero expectation of privacy. We don't allow any social media on the phone itself. YouTube and other sites can be used under supervision for agreed on lengths of time. Once or twice a week my wife or I will go through their text messages with them and ask questions about anything t…

> Once or twice a week my wife or I will go through their text messages with them and ask questions about anything that seems off. > IMO parents are reluctant to intervene because they either don't know where to start, or struggle with how much work it is. There are also parents who disagree with this ideology and would find this an invasion of their child's privacy. I'd caution against the thinking "we find this val…

The mantra we use with our kids is "We will try and respect your privacy but we aren't bound by it." As I often tell my son, "It's your room but it's my house."

And we make it extra clear that the moment they go online, they have no expectation of privacy. Better they learn that someone's snooping now than be surprised when it's Google/Facebook/NSA.

Re: Social media can be a ‘profound risk’ to youth, surgeon general warns

#166

Post by wonderwonder »

knaik94 wrote: post #149
wonderwonder wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Respectfully, do you have kids and if so how old are they? At what age did you give them social media? Social media is absolutely just a communication platform but it allows anyone to communicate their biases and view points to your kids. It's very much not important. Kids can grow up to be well rounded and happy people without it.

I am giving you perspective from someone that had social media limited. Not having a social media presence caused other kids to leave me out of things. I missed a lot of context on drama that happened online, and was always late in learning about things. I don't have kids but I have been tutoring kids for the last 14 years, since I was basically a kid. I do individual tutoring for mostly high school, and occasionally…

That's the thing, social media is full of people like Tate pushing all sorts of views. All the things you missed out on with social media that you rightly describe as drama were not important. I don't even have that much of an issue with Tate, he's just obviously trying to get people to pay for his membership. Some of the ideas he pushes are far less dangerous than the other stuff being pushed out there. I do disagree strongly with you taking positions and counseling kids that you are simply supposed to be tutoring. Ask your parents is a perfectly acceptable answer. You were essentially using your position of authority to push your viewpoint on impressionable minds. You may think you were doing right but in reality it was not your job and you were undermining parental roles. If I discovered my kids tutors were doing this I would react poorly.

Re: Social media can be a ‘profound risk’ to youth, surgeon general warns

#167

Post by pixl97 »

youreincorrect wrote: post #23
swader999 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isolating them from their peers can be just as mentally devastating. I don't think there is a good solution to this.

They can deal with it. In middle school, I was called a faggot, relentlessly, for not owning a Jansport backpack . I am 100% serious. They'll find friends, I'm pretty sure of it.

And what about the ones that didn't? Otherwise you're just talking about survivorship bias.

Re: Social media can be a ‘profound risk’ to youth, surgeon general warns

#168

Post by drak0n1c »

andrewmcwatters wrote: post #52

I get it, I agree with it, but I also grew up with unfettered access to the Internet during a period of time when the World Wide Web was growing and maturing and you saw a lot of stuff you shouldn’t have as a kid. It seems like extreme helicoptering to restrict your children from things like this that are in the world and it’s an easy way out. Hey! All of a sudden you don’t have to parent. Some software can do it for…

The internet that required users to purposefully sit down at a functional desktop PC and bear with significant latency to interact with it is quite different from the internet defined everyone with a touchscreen in their pocket. Yes, there were crazies and degenerates on the old internet, but there at least was a modicum of thoughtfulness and sense in much of the user generated content.

Because of the functional difference, using parental controls on the most addicting apps and sites during younger ages starts to make sense. Getting your child to conform to your value system is not the important part, what's arguably more damaging is the negative effects of emotional and mental addiction to social media and its trends, along with addiction to touchscreen usage itself - kids raised with touchscreens too early often lack the patience or self-control to read books, indulge their own imagination, or even watch a movie.

I too was allowed free reign on the internet in the early 00's as a child and teenager. I saw the shock sites, and browsed /b/ with schoolmates. However, the computer I used was a shared computer in the living room, not my own room. And I still fell into game addiction that affected my academic performance and mood until parental intervention. It's worth looking out for.

Re: Social media can be a ‘profound risk’ to youth, surgeon general warns

#169

Post by pixl97 »

mrguyorama wrote: post #139
dathinab wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it is guaranteed at least subtle socially isolating them

If we continue down this road, not letting your kid smoke pot with their peers also counts as "subtle social isolation". Some things your kid should not do!

You mean like we made it illegal to sell cigarettes or pot (where it is legal) to children... whoa, it's almost like we can have laws limit stuff.

Re: Social media can be a ‘profound risk’ to youth, surgeon general warns

#170

Post by wonderwonder »

bart_spoon wrote: post #153
mrguyorama wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Our state banned billboards like 80 years ago. Make that happen in your state. They are valueless.

Which state is that? I didn't realize that was a thing in the US, but it sounds great.

Does it, how else would I find 423 lawyers as I drove to the store? J/K
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