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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

#131

Post by gnicholas »

Has anyone had any luck getting schools/districts to publicize this type of info? It seems like there's a coordination problem, where X% of parents would not want kinds to be on social media for a long time, Y% of parents who want their kids on social media, and Z% of parents who would prefer no social media but don't care that much.

If everyone knew how large the X+Z percentage was, there could be a large enough group that most kids wouldn't be on social media, and they wouldn't feel bad about it or miss out on most social activities.

But as it stands, Y% have their kids on social media, Z% go along for the ride so they don't miss out, and then X% have a tough choice to make.

It would be great if schools had presentations for parents (and kids) that talk about these potential harms, and encouraged families to make decisions in the long-term interest of their kids. This could have the side benefit (for the school) of reducing smartphone usage, which distracts kids during school.

I'm thinking of talking to my kids' school about this, since they spend so much time/money on all sorts of presentations/trainings already, and often for stuff that would be less impactful. I'd even encourage them to tell students that parents use phones too much, and they can feel free to bug us to have no-phone time. That would get the kids invested in the concept, and make it less likely they fall prey to smartphone addiction.

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

#132

Post by dundercoder »

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 that seems off.

It is a LOT of work. But so far, it has paid off. The more responsible the usage, the more freedom we give. When bad patterns start surfacing, we rein it in.

IMO parents are reluctant to intervene because they either don't know where to start, or struggle with how much work it is.

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

#133

Post by im3w1l »

nineplay wrote: post #92
im3w1l wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The reason they don't say is because they don't know.

How can they claim that this is all backed up by research if they don't know what social media is? What is the link they are finding? It doesn't feel like science. It feels like hand-waving, correlation, and anecdote.

Well imagine this experiment. You take 100 kids and put them into the animal enclosures at a local zoo. Some are put with sheep, some with birds, some with sharks, and lions and others with elephants. You notice that more of these kids these die than the control group that went to the zoo but outside the animal enclosures. Conclusion: wildlife dangerous. What you cannot conclude certainly is which wildlife is dangerous, there simple weren't enough participating kids. Maybe the reason the kid put with the lion lived is because lions are safe, or maybe it was because the lion was just fed. That would take a follow-up study to find. And what about kangaroos? The zoo didn't even have so we would have to try to extrapolate.

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

#134

Post by [deleted] »

yung_steezy wrote: post #129
wonderwonder wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I appreciate your viewpoint but strongly disagree. Children today suffer vastly increasing rates of depression and suicide. I link most of it to social media. My kids talk to their friends just as kids have done for generations. If social media is playing any sort of a critical role in a kids life it's because the parents are not doing it. YouTube is absolutely social media no different than Instagram or TikTok. Even…

I can appreciate that you are trying to be proactive about parenting but I disagree with your moral puritanism. Kids who are completely sheltered often don't end up as well adjusted adults in my experience.

[deleted]

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

#135

Post by bart_spoon »

standardUser wrote: post #93
bart_spoon wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Children have been around for 7 billion years. Only the last 20 years have children grown up with social media for even part of their childhood. Do you truly believe it has now become that critical to the childhood experience? Especially given avalanche of research demonstrating its harm?

If I didn't watch the Simpsons, play Nintendo and listen to the local alt rock radio station when I was a kid, I would have had very little in common with my peers. Same situation today, just different media. Turns out, shared experiences facilitate bonding. Who knew?

Funny, I didn't watch the Simpsons or listen to alt rock radio, but I had no issues socializing or finding friends. Turns out no one thinks the Simpsons or and alt-rock are essentials to children being able to properly socialize with one another. And yet people are arguing that social media, despite all its harmful effects, can't be withheld from a child without damaging them.

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

#136

Post by wonderwonder »

yung_steezy wrote: post #129
wonderwonder wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I appreciate your viewpoint but strongly disagree. Children today suffer vastly increasing rates of depression and suicide. I link most of it to social media. My kids talk to their friends just as kids have done for generations. If social media is playing any sort of a critical role in a kids life it's because the parents are not doing it. YouTube is absolutely social media no different than Instagram or TikTok. Even…

I can appreciate that you are trying to be proactive about parenting but I disagree with your moral puritanism. Kids who are completely sheltered often don't end up as well adjusted adults in my experience.

I hear what you are saying but I'm not seeking to isolate my kids at all. Today's "moral puritanism" is yesterday's raising kids to understand right from wrong and what makes a good man. They hang out with friends, play on sports teams, take academic extra curriculars. The only thing I limit is social media. Social media is not a nice introduction to different views, it's an aggressive shotgun blast with the worst kind of people peddling their views for likes and followers. kids don't need social media to be well rounded, removing a negative influence is not sheltering.

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

#137

Post by mrguyorama »

standardUser wrote: post #124
youreincorrect wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They can deal with it. In middle school, I was called a faggot, relentlessly, for not owning a Jansport backpack . I am 100% serious. They'll find friends, I'm pretty sure of it.

[flagged]

If that is suffering than every child will always suffer, because an very normal part of childhood is someone finding a reason to bully someone else. It's part of developing understanding of social structures and your place in them, some kids will inevitably decide they must be at the top of the pecking order in their little personal hierarchy. You physically cannot prevent children from making up ways to pick on each other, there's like a doctor Seuss book about this for heaven's sake.

This isn't saying "stop trying to prevent bullying" but rather "if you are afraid of your child being bullied because they aren't on social media, them being on social media will not stop them from being bullied" and social media makes bullying worse because now it follows them around instead of possibly stopping at 3pm

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

#138

Post by mrguyorama »

hammyhavoc wrote: post #98
wonderwonder wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How are they isolated? If kids are involved in sports and extra curriculars they will have plenty of social interaction. Nothing on social media is good for young minds. Everything is a pitch trying to sell some sort of viewpoint. I'm the parent, I'll provide morals and insight into topics I think are important that aren't or shouldn't be covered in school. I don't need Jim.lottahoes78 teaching my kid anything.

> Everything is a pitch trying to sell some sort of viewpoint. What about cities? What about stores? What about TV? What about magazines? What about the radio? What about school? What about music? What about books? Whilst I agree with you, where do we draw the line? Personally, having worked in advertising/marketing for over a decade and grown completely disenchanted with it and pivoted to just doing creative shit, I…

Our state banned billboards like 80 years ago. Make that happen in your state. They are valueless.

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

#139

Post by mrguyorama »

dathinab wrote: post #51
JohnFen wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That isn't isolating them from their peers.

it is guaranteed at least subtle socially isolating them

If we continue down this road, not letting your kid smoke pot with their peers also counts as "subtle social isolation". Some things your kid should not do!

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

#140

Post by mrguyorama »

yamtaddle wrote: post #76
JohnFen wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No more so than it's isolating them by giving them a curfew, telling them they can't hang out in certain places, not giving them a car, etc. That level of "isolation" seems innocuous at worst to me (even though it may seem like the end of the world to the kids).

Every kid through history was horribly isolated before we got smartphones and social media, I guess. They're already spending the best hours of every weekday for like 3/4 of each year with their peers. More, if they do any other activities that involve other kids. Seems like quite a bit. I'm skeptical that they'll be harmed if they can't catch up on the latest bullying-memes, creep shots of other students, and tips f…

If your kid is never isolated, how can they possibly develop healthy behaviors around boredom and isolation?
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