Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

nytimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

261–270 of 548 posts

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

#261

Post by paulpauper »

sandworm101 wrote: post #245

They said the same about early cellphones. They said the same about walkmans. They said the same about rap music. They said the same about TV. They said the same about comic books. They said the same about rock and roll. Go back far enough and they said the same about the printing press. Ok boomer. Can we please first address the real issues?

It is always something. How many times can they cry wolf until we stop taking them seriously, stop giving them taxpayer dollars for research? Anything that people find enjoyable must have some huge consequence for society or individually. People are not allowed to have fun. It's sorta like secular puritanism. It is out of control.

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

#262

Post by ericmcer »

zackmorris wrote: post #173

D.A.R.E. to Keep Kids Off Social Media Wages stagnated since 1980. Rents doubling every decade. Dead-end service jobs. Unpayable student loans. Social Security payments going to IOUs instead of retirements. Lying politicians and chief corporate officers making bank on the backs of the working poor. 30% credit card interest. Delaying childbirth to make rent until it's too late. GMO and processed foods poisoning giving…

People aren’t generally affected by issues that are out of sight like those you list. A classmate saying something critical about an teenagers appearance will be 100x more impactful than the rainforests imminent disappearance.

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

#263

Post by Ekaros »

gnicholas wrote: post #243
lbrito wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Slightly off-topic, but coming from a country where credit card interest rates are around 15% _per month_, I was amused to find people complaining about 22% _per year_ interests in North America.

I imagine rates are determined largely by the general state of the economy (if you currently have a job, how likely are you to lose it?), the amount of data the creditor can gather on potential debtors (what are your wages and current debts?), and the credit card company's ability to efficiently collect on debts. I wouldn't be surprised if the collections process is easier in the US than in other countries. The econo…

I would guess that consumer credit is much looser in USA than many other places. Like I had changed a job and couldn't get a credit card with 1000€ limit. Automated system simply blocked it.

This looseness is great boost for economy, but on other side it also means credit risk and thus the interest levels must be higher to in general to cover those losses.

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

#264

Post by gloryjulio »

thatfrenchguy wrote: post #213
zackmorris wrote: post #173

D.A.R.E. to Keep Kids Off Social Media Wages stagnated since 1980. Rents doubling every decade. Dead-end service jobs. Unpayable student loans. Social Security payments going to IOUs instead of retirements. Lying politicians and chief corporate officers making bank on the backs of the working poor. 30% credit card interest. Delaying childbirth to make rent until it's too late. GMO and processed foods poisoning giving…

> A burning natural world set to end between 2050 and 2100 Eh, climate change is a really big problem but you can't go around saying "the world is set to end between 2050 and 2100", it's obviously untrue and demotivating.

I agree that its a ridiculous description. But as a mentophor, I can imagine at that time the life is like burning in despair

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

#265

Post by interroboink »

runarberg wrote: post #244
thatfrenchguy wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A burning natural world set to end between 2050 and 2100 Eh, climate change is a really big problem but you can't go around saying "the world is set to end between 2050 and 2100", it's obviously untrue and demotivating.

Most recent IPCC report stated that we are very likely to hit 1.5° in the next five years. If all our current policies hold, and we don’t continue to increase our annual emissions we will likely be looking at 2.7° - 3.2° at the end of this century. At 3° the oceans die. I think it is safe to say that the world as we know it is very likely coming to an end between 2050 and 2100. We will be living in a far more inhospi…

> At 3° the oceans die.

I appreciate that it's hard to communicate fuzzy concepts with lots of unknowns succinctly, but this seems overly-alarmist and simplistic to me.

Or maybe I'm wrong; do you have some reputable sources?

Here's one of mine[1], indicating (paraphrased) "5° by 2100 would result in a mass extinction in the next 300 years." And I'd note that even mass extinction is not the same as "the oceans die."

Agreed about big changes to "the world as we know it", though.

[1] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientists-warn-o...

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

#266

Post by yamazakiwi »

pxoe wrote: post #248
yumraj wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but giving teenagers zero privacy (to the extent of going through their personal messages) seems wild to me. Why? Teenagers are kids too, or have we forgotten that? They are actually worse than kids in some respect, still immature but with changing body and new hormones. It may seem weird to them at this time, but hopefully they’ll appreciate when they grow older - or even if not, at least one did what they could.

teens won't just 'want' privacy, they will get it, one way or another. and if it means excluding other people (like parents) from their communication loops, then so be it. thinking that 'you can let them know that you read their little messages, and that takes care of some things', or 'sure, they may want privacy, but what will they really do?'(literally anything incl. getting a burner phone lol), is just unrealistic…

This is exactly what happened to me. Having no privacy made me a skilled liar, so I have that to be thankful for at least.

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

#267

Post by graboidhunter »

hammyhavoc wrote: post #254
graboidhunter wrote: post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Got kids? Enroll them in youth sports. You'll meet and talk with other parents at games and practices. It's how I ended up joining an indoor soccer league. Check out your local recreation center. It's how I joined a local fencing club. Check out meet ups in your area. It's how I join a language exchange group that meets weekly. Check out your local library. They often have book clubs, kid and adult events, and more.…

Most libraries are gone here in the UK, FWIW. Post-pandemic, most rec centers are struggling or gone too. Hospitality in general is struggling here. Pubs disappearing too.

Meet ups. Hobby clubs (chess, cycling, etc.). User groups (Linux, Mac, Python, etc.). Take some lessons for a sport. Take a fitness class. Art classes. Group music lessons. Volunteer for non-profits. Find a local artist group, a local woodworking group. Local business groups like a chamber of commerce.

Basically, find anything which interests you that places you in a context where you bump into the same group of people regularly. From that, connections with develop.

For many, the biggest challenge isn't finding a place to be but actually getting themselves out there in the first place.

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

#268

Post by WarOnPrivacy »

mtalantikite wrote: post #250
wetmore wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm with you that these are major issues, and ones that impact my mental health as someone in my 30s, but I sort of doubt these problems are the main contributors to the mental health crises among young people. Social media and phones have had a huge negative impact on the amount of time young people spend together in person and have amplified the stakes of one's social life. Maybe I'm forgetting what it was like to…

I'd maybe put the doubling of rent every decade up there at the top as the thing that causes the most mental health harm. I'm in my late 30s and remember moving to NYC in 2007, when seeing two bedroom apartments in Brooklyn for $1200/month seemed expensive but doable. Now I hear of young people paying that for a room in a shared apartment, or end up moving back in with their parents. Add to that other costs of existi…

> I'd maybe put the doubling of rent every decade up there at the top as the thing that causes the most mental health harm.

I can't say you're wrong. In my formerly inexpensive state, we went from 1 typical income to survive (1993) to 4 typical incomes. Just in 2021, we had to absorb a 70% increase in rent - and we were lucky.

State 'fixes' to home/biz insurance are quadrupling policy costs while mandating more people pay for it. Renters are going to eat every cent of that.

That doesn't even start to touch on things like this year's sudden 40% increase to auto policies, the f.u. surcharge for living in this state.

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

#269

Post by gnicholas »

Ekaros wrote: post #263
gnicholas wrote: post #243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I imagine rates are determined largely by the general state of the economy (if you currently have a job, how likely are you to lose it?), the amount of data the creditor can gather on potential debtors (what are your wages and current debts?), and the credit card company's ability to efficiently collect on debts. I wouldn't be surprised if the collections process is easier in the US than in other countries. The econo…

I would guess that consumer credit is much looser in USA than many other places. Like I had changed a job and couldn't get a credit card with 1000€ limit. Automated system simply blocked it. This looseness is great boost for economy, but on other side it also means credit risk and thus the interest levels must be higher to in general to cover those losses.

> This looseness is great boost for economy, but on other side it also means credit risk and thus the interest levels must be higher to in general to cover those losses.

But it sounds like US interest rates are lower than some other places, based on GP's comment.

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

#270

Post by yamazakiwi »

jrochkind1 wrote: post #196
ChicagoBoy11 wrote: post #3

I work at a fancy private school and partially am have hosted numerous events for parents on kids and social media. We have been banging on this key for easily the past 8 years, with varying levels of emphasis. The response from parents has also been universally consistent: A lot of nodding, and, ultimately, very little action. There has always been a small but consistent group of parents who stand firmly on their de…

Does the school allow cell phones in school? If so, why? Relying on parents to somehow prevent their kids from doing what all their peers are doing, I'm not surprised this is a fight parents choose not to have, or don't know how to win, or don't have the energy for. Can the school "be bothered" to try to do something at the school level, that will effect the entire peer group, instead of hoping that parents will find…

Faraday classrooms
Post reply on HN