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Teen mental health is plummeting and social media is a major contributing cause [pdf]

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Re: Teen mental health is plummeting and social media is a major contributing cause [pdf]

#11

Man. Those charts are dire. I'm not entirely sure how much social media is to blame, but it certainly can't be helping. It's certainly pretty telling that most people when asked seem to innately know that social media is bad for them. However, I find the proposal here kinda lame: - Mandate academic access and fund research - Ban young children from social media or create a "suitable environment for them" We all basic…

Personally I think it looks like going back to when your online and offline identities were totally separate. Inhabiting the internet under your real name is living in two different worlds with two different rulesets and pretending the same identity is well-suited to both.

100% of your online identity was under your control in my day. You were exactly who you chose to be. Not anymore. Now if you're ugly, fat, gay, a minority in real life you're the same online. The internet is not an escape anymore. That's why it's making more kids kill themselves now than it was twenty years ago.

Re: Teen mental health is plummeting and social media is a major contributing cause [pdf]

#12
post #4

Man. Those charts are dire. I'm not entirely sure how much social media is to blame, but it certainly can't be helping. It's certainly pretty telling that most people when asked seem to innately know that social media is bad for them. However, I find the proposal here kinda lame: - Mandate academic access and fund research - Ban young children from social media or create a "suitable environment for them" We all basic…

Haidt and Lukianoff offer a much clearer and stronger case for how social media and other influences are harming youth in their book "The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure".

The link discusses it being international, not just American.

I'm also curious how "coddling" would describe social media.

Re: Teen mental health is plummeting and social media is a major contributing cause [pdf]

#13

Haidt wants to censor the speech he doesn’t like; he is pining for the old order. His main talking point is Diversity and Equity is bad. He even suggests diversity is bad. Watch this video from mid point. https://youtu.be/RKRuvKtFvqo

I doubt you're all that familiar with his work if you think his main point is anti-diversity. Read The Righteous Mind. It's a really good book.

Re: Teen mental health is plummeting and social media is a major contributing cause [pdf]

#14
post #10

Is it social media? Or is it also the knowledge that they effectively have no future. Rent is going up and mortgage rates are going up faster. A shrinking portion of young adults can now afford housing. The economy is becoming so disfunctional there's almost no reason to bother participating. When children end up in that position their family will turn on them and they have nothing materially or socially.

Yes, rent is expensive, but it’s more than possible to make your way in today’s world provided you don’t fall behind due to drugs or avoidable diseases.

The people for which success is out of reach do not browse HN.

Re: Teen mental health is plummeting and social media is a major contributing cause [pdf]

#15

Man. Those charts are dire. I'm not entirely sure how much social media is to blame, but it certainly can't be helping. It's certainly pretty telling that most people when asked seem to innately know that social media is bad for them. However, I find the proposal here kinda lame: - Mandate academic access and fund research - Ban young children from social media or create a "suitable environment for them" We all basic…

Personally I think it looks like going back to when your online and offline identities were totally separate. Inhabiting the internet under your real name is living in two different worlds with two different rulesets and pretending the same identity is well-suited to both. 100% of your online identity was under your control in my day. You were exactly who you chose to be. Not anymore. Now if you're ugly, fat, gay, a…

Are there any studies showing using 4chan, tumblr, or reddit has better mental health outcomes than non-anonymous social networks? I'm skeptical from my own experience.

Re: Teen mental health is plummeting and social media is a major contributing cause [pdf]

#16
post #10

Is it social media? Or is it also the knowledge that they effectively have no future. Rent is going up and mortgage rates are going up faster. A shrinking portion of young adults can now afford housing. The economy is becoming so disfunctional there's almost no reason to bother participating. When children end up in that position their family will turn on them and they have nothing materially or socially.

Yes, rent is expensive, but it’s more than possible to make your way in today’s world provided you don’t fall behind due to drugs or avoidable diseases. The people for which success is out of reach do not browse HN.

Right, but this is about teenagers, not people who browse HN. Not everyone can be a software developer or startup founder. Someone has to build and maintain all these buildings, roads, and farms.

Re: Teen mental health is plummeting and social media is a major contributing cause [pdf]

#17
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Haidt and Lukianoff offer a much clearer and stronger case for how social media and other influences are harming youth in their book "The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure".

The link discusses it being international, not just American. I'm also curious how "coddling" would describe social media.

In my mind they intellectually coddle users by providing an echo chamber where they can spout their ideas to a group chosen specifically of people who will agree with them.

Re: Teen mental health is plummeting and social media is a major contributing cause [pdf]

#18
Parent of a teen, one anecdote to add. You see what all your friends are doing all the time. Every gathering or event that you where not a part of you see, sometimes in real time.

People hate being excluded, and this greatly amplifies this feeling.

I'm certain I missed out on a ton of cool stuff as a kid, but at least I didn't have to see it.

Re: Teen mental health is plummeting and social media is a major contributing cause [pdf]

#19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you clarify exactly how he suggests "diversity is bad" - linking off to a 20 minute video and saying "its in there" isn't exactly great for discussion.

watch at 9:20 mark. He starts with “We have this idea diversity is good, and diversity has many good effects, “BUT .. “

I think you are taking what he is saying out of context and being very dishonest about it. He is not talking about diversity meaning he doesn't want different races or sexualities involved in the country. He is talking about the extreme fracturing of groups that is driven by social media.

I see this in my everyday life. Browsing any forum, almost every view expressed by any person is polarized to some side. However, being older and having enough people not connected to social media in my circle, I notice no one expresses the same polarization of thought that is so prevalent in social media and online communities. I also notice that the few people I interact with who do spend a large amount of time on social media are extremely polarized and mostly miserable.

Re: Teen mental health is plummeting and social media is a major contributing cause [pdf]

#20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally I think it looks like going back to when your online and offline identities were totally separate. Inhabiting the internet under your real name is living in two different worlds with two different rulesets and pretending the same identity is well-suited to both. 100% of your online identity was under your control in my day. You were exactly who you chose to be. Not anymore. Now if you're ugly, fat, gay, a…

Are there any studies showing using 4chan, tumblr, or reddit has better mental health outcomes than non-anonymous social networks? I'm skeptical from my own experience.

Probably depends on how much you identify with your alter ego.
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