Earlier quoted context omitted.
sarcasm?
Not at all. I'm just pointing out that freedom of speech is more important than anything else on Earth.
Maybe to an american, to a nation dying of hunger, food is probably more important.
Yes, social media is a cause of the epidemic of teenage mental illness
951–960 of 1001 posts
Re: Yes, social media is a cause of the epidemic of teenage mental illness
#952Re: Yes, social media is a cause of the epidemic of teenage mental illness
#953I'm no saint when it comes to addiction and being on my phone for more than I should be, but I have a sister who is in her mid 20s right now, and for the last couple of years she has slowly isolated herself from life and her family, she spends most of her time in her room on the phone and does weird things like get cosmetic surgeries, ordering cosmetics, etc. It's bizarre. She does this and all the while never leaves…
> She doesn't share her actual thoughts That's where social media has been most damaging. You can't share your thoughts anymore. The 'Redditization' of the world means that sharing thoughts is met with hostility. No longer can you just throw something out there, no matter how stupid. These days you have carry an entire encyclopedia with you in order to back up every last thing you say and if you utter anything that i…
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Re: Yes, social media is a cause of the epidemic of teenage mental illness
#954Earlier quoted context omitted.
> And just like the Supreme Court wrote 30 years ago, the answer is the same today: if you don't like these products and feel they are negative, then don't use them. Restrict your children's access to these platforms. 100% my reply to any critic of teenage social media, but the parents' stance is always "but then my kid is going to FOMO and feel left out".
The cure to fomo is not participation
That is what I am saying but apparently HN is on a bad day today.
Re: Yes, social media is a cause of the epidemic of teenage mental illness
#955Earlier quoted context omitted.
The world is full of people who disagree with you, but you need to learn more than ever to recognize and filter out what you don't care about. I don't even view replies to posts any longer, 98% of the time because I am not seeking validation sharing my opinion. This is something it's taken me a while to come to terms with. I used to want to fully engage with everybody and everything. It was anathema to me to just "br…
I'm curious. You say what to say. What's the incentive to do this? Educate people or...?
He doesn't reply anymore.
Re: Yes, social media is a cause of the epidemic of teenage mental illness
#956Earlier quoted context omitted.
My kids watch a lot of YouTube/TikTok and playing computer games... Yet I don't. I sit in front of my PC all day for work and after work (after dinner) I also spend a ton of time in front of my PC doing things like learning how to make circuit boards, learning new programming languages, OpenSCAD (CAD) design work, and more. I tell them they spend too much time watching videos and playing games and should "branch out"…
This is tearing me apart. On one hand I believe if we blocked all the bad stuff like YT, social media, games... they would certainly be bored more easily and get into more "wholesome" activities. On the other hand, I don't know if there are negative side effects of going full authoritarian that would outweigh the benefits. For now we walk the line, limiting social media but allowing some YT and games. One unintended…
You could do a reward system, like for every 1X educational content watched they get to watch 2X of the fun stuff
Re: Yes, social media is a cause of the epidemic of teenage mental illness
#957The recent Twitter drama over a use of a word is all you need to see how bad things are. It takes nothing to get a mob of mentally ill people on your case which can have a psychological toll on anyone especially teenagers. And if you try to reason with such people you just get sent down a rabbit hole. We need to have limits on what we allow our brain to process the same way we do for our body with ultra-processed foo…
>We need to have limits on what we allow our brain to process the same way we do for our body with ultra-processed foods by avoiding fast food restaurants
This is a great analogy.
Fast information dis-eases our minds as fast food diseases our body.
Re: Yes, social media is a cause of the epidemic of teenage mental illness
#958Earlier quoted context omitted.
My brother is essentially the male version of this, just swap the cosmetics for video game DLCs. He's early 20's, no job, no interest in work, no interest in getting out of the house, no interest on anything... talking to him is the most frustrating experience ever, nothing comes out of him, no emotion... I talked so many times, tried to get an idea of what might drive him: travelling, learning, walking around in the…
This described my brother too. He killed himself four years ago, after about thirty years of just that kind of depression. And I was my little brother's keeper damn it, so it's my failure. Ever since I keep reliving it and wondering what I could have done. All I come up with are fantasy scenarios in which I somehow make us both wildly successful. But even that's a stretch given his outlook. I fantasize about some kin…
It's not like life has any worth in its own right. It's sad that he was driven that far, but what could you really have done? No use blaming yourself.
Re: Yes, social media is a cause of the epidemic of teenage mental illness
#959Earlier quoted context omitted.
I ALWAYS respond with the most infuriating response a troll could ever imagine getting. I just write the two letters: ok The fact that they cannot discern if I'm giving them agreement or the side eye is delicious.
Why would a troll care if you agree or are giving the side eye? Their whole existence is simply to see if they can goad you into replying. (And yes, you succeeded!)
"ok" is a dismissal of their existence. I'm explicitly saying that I dismiss them. They are trying to goad me into replying violently, as this is what confirms that they have an effect on the world. "ok" denies them any effect.
Re: Yes, social media is a cause of the epidemic of teenage mental illness
#960Earlier quoted context omitted.
> obsessed I don't know. What one person calls an obsession can easily be called a hobby by someone else. Personally, I like my little obsessions. I like them a lot better than judgemental people in my life. If someone were to start a "rational conversation" with me where they made me feel like I had to justify my "garbage obsession", well, I wouldn't want to talk to them anymore.
I'm not saying such conversations are pleasant or make you like someone, when it's your own life or addictions or obsessions that are being criticized. But I've been on the receiving end of it and I'm willing to listen and consider someone else's perspective and whether it's true and whether I might need to look at reforming my behavior if people are telling me these things. I can deal with harshness if I believe the…
I'm sorry that your sisters died from drug abuse. I feel for your loss, but please realise that substance abuse is not the same as losing yourself in an interest or hobby.
You make the assumption that you are absolutely right about a "garbage obsessed" person. That's reasonable when it comes to substance abuse, but it's unlikely to be reasonable when it comes to an obsession. If you are not willing to consider you're wrong about the obsession, you shouldn't have the conversation.
Even if you're right, a truly obsessed person is not going to listen someone who's full of their own righteousness. But chances are you're just wrong, and then the conversation is just useless.
> If you turn off because of style, that's an excuse to avoid thinking about the content.
It's not an excuse, it's a reason. I like my obsessions. If someone is open and willing to understand, I am willing to explain or tell. But I do not care whether or not anyone thinks it's a garbage obsession. If that's all they're willing to talk about, I see no value in having the conversation.