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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

#311

Post by HaZeust »

demindiro wrote: post #281
somethingreen wrote: post #275

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The idea that any of these would normally worry an average young teen is hilarious to me. I grew up during cold war, USSR collapse, multiple wars in the region. At no point was I (or any of my peers to my knowledge) gravely concerned for our future. Because none of us yet had any idea what our normal future is supposed to look like. The only way these mild horrors get into children heads is, again, through social med…

We have a hot war right now on the border of the EU that likely will escalate further. I'm sure China has plans too.

I mean, barring legitimacy on 2023 doom-and-gloom rhetoric, those who grew up during the Cold War do have this generation beat when it comes to warmongery worries. Problem is, there was not nearly as much domestic disarray back then - and there was still a sense of unity.

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

#312

Post by grvdrm »

dundercoder wrote: post #179
grvdrm wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not going to comment on the specifics of your process. There isn't always a right or wrong to handle this stuff. Your comment and the parent point to the theme that matters to me most: do you care to understand/show interest in what your kids are doing. Forget about social media - just think about TV. You can park your kid in front of the TV and forget about them, converse with them as they watch, or something in…

>do you care to understand/show interest in what your kids are doing. This I think precisely embodies what works and what doesn't. If this is your goal, you'll figure out something that works.

Absolutely. It is the thing that actually matters.

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

#313

Post by HaZeust »

somethingreen wrote: post #275
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…

The idea that any of these would normally worry an average young teen is hilarious to me. I grew up during cold war, USSR collapse, multiple wars in the region. At no point was I (or any of my peers to my knowledge) gravely concerned for our future. Because none of us yet had any idea what our normal future is supposed to look like. The only way these mild horrors get into children heads is, again, through social med…

I've seen a lot of assertions that the rhetoric and agenda online or on social media exist from those places in isolation, and "don't reflect the real world". The problem with this line of thinking is that the majority of humans with access to the internet in 2023 use the information they acquire online as a means to build their real-world beliefs and values. This idea that social media/online doesn't reflect the real world isn't true; it has made our present-day beliefs of the real-world, and has seeped out of the monitor and into our individual psyches and collective consciousness.

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

#315

Post by trillic »

quickcheque wrote: post #296
system16 wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is just anecdotal but I remember when I was growing up there were always a few kids in school who had extremely restrictive parents like this (strictly controlled their TV, phone, time with friends, searched their rooms, etc.) On the surface, it seemed like it was effective and they had model kids. But in every case I can remember it resulted in the kids just becoming much better at finding ways to rebel (in inc…

How about the ones that were allowed to do whatever they wanted? Where are they now?

On hacker news, well-adjusted, highly-educated, able to think for myself, found healthy outlets for "rebellion", and I have healthy relationship with my parents that feels more like friendship than dictatorship.

Anecdotally, I got in trouble occasionally as a teenager, but those moments of trouble were considerably less rebellious than friends of mine with helicopter parents.

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

#316

Post by pgwhalen »

dundercoder wrote: post #132
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…

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.

> When bad patterns start surfacing, we rein it in.

Can you elaborate on what sorts of things you'd ask about, or what bad patterns are? I'm not a parent but if I were I think I'd have a hard time drawing the line in the right place.

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

#317

Post by arbitrary_name »

marcusverus wrote: post #304
demindiro wrote: post #281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We have a hot war right now on the border of the EU that likely will escalate further. I'm sure China has plans too.

Why would China have plans? China is well on their way to becoming the unrivaled military power of the world in the next couple of decades. All they have to do is wait and let the current trends play out. The only possible way to derail their ascent is a premature war--economic or otherwise--with the west.

I do not think this is necessarily the case. Their population is ageing rapidly, with due consequences for the company between citizens and the CCP. Internal tendons between the rich coastal regions, attracting all the labor, and the hollowed out interior could cause issues.

I don't think their ascendancy is necessity assured.

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

#318

Post by rightbyte »

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

Is it? People get like one month worth of 'wage after rent, fuel and food' with a CC. Only once.

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

#319

Post by thanatos519 »

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…

I'll be astounded if we make it to 2050.

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

#320

Post by yamtaddle »

foobarian wrote: post #284
yamtaddle wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe it's how you raise a generation that understands you shouldn't post a single thing online that you don't want the whole world to know about. Prior generations have entirely failed to understand that, certainly (cf. Zuckerberg's infamous "dumb fucks" comment—which, go figure, we know about because he sent it as an instant message)

Funny thing is (IIRC) he sent it over IRC, which as far as these things go is relatively ephemeral :-)

Ha, yeah, reinforces the idea that if you don't have crazy-good opsec you better not post anything online—including in places as relatively-safe as IRC or direct messages—that you don't want in the newspaper, with your name next to it.
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