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Which is basically a mental illness.
Yes, social media is a cause of the epidemic of teenage mental illness
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Re: Yes, social media is a cause of the epidemic of teenage mental illness
#12[flagged]
Democracy was a nice idea until the internet came into existence.
Re: Yes, social media is a cause of the epidemic of teenage mental illness
#13It's electronics in general. I was in 7th grade at the inflection point, when the iPhone 3G first widely popularized having a pocket computer. Facebook went mainstream around the same time. Suddenly kids became a lot less social, and that never flipped back.
It's mobile devices, not electronics in general. Social networking was around before widespread mobile computing, e.g. MySpace, but it was a supplement to offline social interaction, not a replacement. Back then, you had to make a conscious decision to use the computer and log in. Having the device in your pocket at all times drastically changes how it's used.
I mean how much time is spent on electronics and away from people overall. Mobile devices increased that a lot, but they aren't the only part. There are way more PC gamers than before, for example. My classmates also used early Facebook more on PCs, maybe because some features didn't work on iPhones (Flash content?). They'd just sit at home on the PC all night.
I'd even count remote classrooms/work. In 2020, people didn't need phones to be always-online, they were at home anyway.
Re: Yes, social media is a cause of the epidemic of teenage mental illness
#14It's electronics in general. I was in 7th grade at the inflection point, when the iPhone 3G first widely popularized having a pocket computer. Facebook went mainstream around the same time. Suddenly kids became a lot less social, and that never flipped back.
Hard disagree. It’s algorithmic “engagement maximizing” systems, specifically. (Engagement is code for addiction.)
If those pocket PCs had useful and creative apps only and maybe some non-addiction-optimized games they’d be fine. The problem is the apps, not the hardware.
With kids the absolute worst seem to be YouTube, TikTok, and Roblox. All three are banned in our house. The kids have their own devices (with monitoring) and can play games and explore other stuff but we do everything we can to keep addiction systems away. It works fine. Our kids engage with real people when they are available and tend only to go to the screens when bored.
We don’t have a hard time limit but if we notice too much screen time we set up play dates or book activities. They’ll go for those things over screens… or at least they do now that the worst stuff is gone.
Banning YouTube was the single highest impact one. The whole mood of the family and home noticeably changed. We got our kids back. They liked their friends again. To this day my #1 piece of parenting advice is to ban YouTube. A few others too but that one seems the worst for some reason.
Engagement maximizing algorithms and UI dark patterns work incredibly well to the point that they can behave like a drug.
Re: Yes, social media is a cause of the epidemic of teenage mental illness
#15The solution is unironically just to do what China does. Create restrictions on how long kids can use the web and what they can use. It won't be perfect but it will be the biggest influence towards better habits and cultural norms.
Jonathan Haidt, the author of this article, was on Real Time w Bill Maher recently, and has some simple recommendations with respect to phones and social media:
1. No smartphones for kids before high school — give them only flip phones in middle school.
2. No social media before age 16.
3. Make schools phone-free, by putting devices in phone lockers or Yondr pouches.
4. Give kids far more free play and independence, including more and better recess.
I can't argue with any of the above.
Re: Yes, social media is a cause of the epidemic of teenage mental illness
#16It's electronics in general. I was in 7th grade at the inflection point, when the iPhone 3G first widely popularized having a pocket computer. Facebook went mainstream around the same time. Suddenly kids became a lot less social, and that never flipped back.
This just as easily describes the rise of AOL when I was around that age in the 90s.
Re: Yes, social media is a cause of the epidemic of teenage mental illness
#17[flagged]
Re: Yes, social media is a cause of the epidemic of teenage mental illness
#18The solution is unironically just to do what China does. Create restrictions on how long kids can use the web and what they can use. It won't be perfect but it will be the biggest influence towards better habits and cultural norms.
I think this is too far, but you should have to be 18 to post on social media, except chat rooms like discord.
Frankly, social media should maybe be highly regulated like prescription drugs. A lot of people can't handle social media and it is tearing democracy apart.
Re: Yes, social media is a cause of the epidemic of teenage mental illness
#19Re: Yes, social media is a cause of the epidemic of teenage mental illness
#20The solution is unironically just to do what China does. Create restrictions on how long kids can use the web and what they can use. It won't be perfect but it will be the biggest influence towards better habits and cultural norms.
This is what I'll do for my kids, but that's my own choice.