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The Problem with Teens Isn't Smartphones–It's Their Families

grimoiremanor.substack.com

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Re: The Problem with Teens Isn't Smartphones–It's Their Families

#11

Post by roxolotl »

Eddy_Viscosity2 wrote: post #7
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #5

I think that the example our generation sets, is pretty important. > "What you do speaks so loudly, I can't hear what you're saying." -Ralph Waldo Emerson For example, I know that I can get fairly cranky about ageism in tech, but I also understand where some of it comes from. My generation has been a pretty big dumpster fire, when it comes to examples. We're the Gordon Gecko "Greed is Good" generation. Our kids kind…

Sadly, looking back through history you'll see that every generation is the "greed is good" generation.

It’s the same but different. Gen X Cops is a great song about this. “Each generation makes its own apology”

https://genius.com/Vampire-weekend-gen-x-cops-lyrics

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kW9Qk00693c

Re: The Problem with Teens Isn't Smartphones–It's Their Families

#12

Post by ashoeafoot »

alistairSH wrote: post #4

First it was rock and roll, then video games, then cell phones. When all along it’s been lack of mental health care in general. This shouldn’t be a surprise.

? So, the goal is not to prevent or reduce trauma, but treat it more often once it happens ? What nonsense is that? Do you get a per patient kuckback by the psychiatrist guuld and associated parties?

Re: The Problem with Teens Isn't Smartphones–It's Their Families

#13

Post by xlii »

> That’s not actually true…there’s little evidence of a crisis at all in most European countries.

There's plenty of evidence, but Europe is not US. US is federated, but has single entity that gather information in one language. Europe is much more fragmented and outside of some EU stats (that are sometimes incomplete) there isn't a single source of truth to get.

The reality is simple: it's a little bit of everything. Parents are busting their ass to pay for expensive housing and overall high costs of living. Attention is grabbed by greedy corps that don't care if you get depressed about your situation as long as they get their euro/dollar/whatever and kids are neck deep in illusion of great created by influencers.

Re: The Problem with Teens Isn't Smartphones–It's Their Families

#14

Post by llm_nerd »

Suicide rate isn't the singular outcome of mental health problems. Saying there isn't a mental health crisis because teen girls don't successfully kill themselves as much as middle aged white men seems spectacularly ill-conceived.

I also was thrown off by the use of the word "Indian". I know "American Indian" is still used by the US government and in many circles, but it is jarring to see it like this. Literally thought it was actual transplants from India that were the subject, and was confused why the chart was showing "Native American" instead.

And FWIW, I don't think smartphones are the cause of mental health issues, even if it's an easy target. And bullying was prevalent long before we had social media. Just on the theme of speculating, I think the ennui of youth comes from the wider world. AGW, the growing political divide, the tendency of everyone to catastrophize and fear monger about literally everything -- if you slightly disagree with a choice, hold it as guaranteeing the end of humanity (see Elon Musk as a hilarious proto-example of this) -- to the point where everything feels broken and dire. And more recently teens live in a world where there aren't even really career hopes because everything, we are told, is going to be done by robots and AI.

Re: The Problem with Teens Isn't Smartphones–It's Their Families

#15

Post by maerch »

alistairSH wrote: post #4

First it was rock and roll, then video games, then cell phones. When all along it’s been lack of mental health care in general. This shouldn’t be a surprise.

Whenever I see arguments about past scapegoats, something about them doesn’t sit right with me.

Some things today are simply more addictive than others—and often deliberately designed that way by large corporations. More importantly, they’re everywhere and carry intense peer pressure. I never experienced that with the things people used to worry about. I listened to a lot of so-called “devil’s music” and played plenty of first-person shooters, and it was never quite the same.

Re: The Problem with Teens Isn't Smartphones–It's Their Families

#16

Post by carlosjobim »

alistairSH wrote: post #4

First it was rock and roll, then video games, then cell phones. When all along it’s been lack of mental health care in general. This shouldn’t be a surprise.

Don't you think rap music has a negative influence? Or pornography?

When was it decided that it's not true that popular culture and technology can have a destructive influence on people? This was decided before I was born, so why should it be my duty to accept it as true?

The more I notice this, the more crazy it seems. When was it decided that the TV should be center in every home and treated like the most important thing in life? Those are just people in a studio, yet most people and especially old people consider those people to be gods, deserving the greatest reverence. Who told them to buy a TV and put it into their homes? How could that become normal?

Re: The Problem with Teens Isn't Smartphones–It's Their Families

#17

Post by agumonkey »

alistairSH wrote: post #4

First it was rock and roll, then video games, then cell phones. When all along it’s been lack of mental health care in general. This shouldn’t be a surprise.

Not disagreeing but this new era brought its share of issues that didn't exist before, from social fame anxiety, sexuality/gender anxiety, news doomscrolling ..

Also, sadly, psychology is hyper relativistic.. the same person with a different psychological education can become suicidal or give zero damn about the same situation.

Re: The Problem with Teens Isn't Smartphones–It's Their Families

#18

Post by ayushrodrigues »

Suicide rate is a strange metric to choose here. I believe smartphones are exceptionally damaging to teens, but the biggest effect is around their attention span and motivation.

The biggest mental health effect is the ADHD epidemic it's bringing on.

Re: The Problem with Teens Isn't Smartphones–It's Their Families

#19

Post by codeduck »

I call shenanigans on this. Suicide rates are not a reliable signal for underlying mental health issues in isolation

Bullying via social media and group chats is endemic, and phones function as a massive signal amplifier in this regard.

Furthermore, there is a growing body of evidence which link early smartphone use to poor outcomes in social skills, degraded critical thinking ability, and elevated rates of depression.

This feels very much like someone picking data to fit their hypothesis.

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