Teen mental health is plummeting and social media is a major contributing cause [pdf] • Hacker News Board

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

#141

Post by noisy_boy » Thu, May 05, 2022, 5:15 AM UTC

WalterSear wrote: post #135

wolverine876 wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> One big zero-sum game. Not relationships, marriage, work, or community. Even business is rarely zero sum, or the economy wouldn't grow. Generally speaking, business is win-win deals.

> Not relationships, marriage, work, or community I don't understand how you could think any of this. Relationships? They are absolutely a competition for the young: both platonic and romantic, but especially romantic. Nothing more competitive. Work? Work is absolutely a competition, for young and old alike. Community? What else do you think teens are seeking out online?

Relationships are a huge competition in an atomic family type situation - children competing with spouses for time, spouse/kids competing with grandparents, family competing with friends... and god forbid if you have a family member with medical needs. When time was collective because of extended families, this stress got spread out and not as much noticeable but with the shrinked family unit, this is only going to get worse.

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

#142

Post by paulcole » Thu, May 05, 2022, 5:19 AM UTC

silisili wrote: post #108

treespace8 wrote: post #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.

Similar, but different. I don't let my child use social media at all, and limited to 30 mins screen time total a day. She's excluded in that all her friends use TikTok, and she can't. Maybe it's for the best. My parents used to say 'if all your friends jumped off a bridge...', and I hated it, so I haven't used that one yet. I'm trying to rely on actual merits instead of follower cliches.

I’ll tell you that’s how my parents were about some stuff. Excluding me from stuff my peers were doing because they thought they knew best. They were mostly wrong and I don’t really talk to them today. Better hope you’re right.

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

#143

Post by jay_kyburz » Thu, May 05, 2022, 5:19 AM UTC

silisili wrote: post #108

treespace8 wrote: post #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.

Similar, but different. I don't let my child use social media at all, and limited to 30 mins screen time total a day. She's excluded in that all her friends use TikTok, and she can't. Maybe it's for the best. My parents used to say 'if all your friends jumped off a bridge...', and I hated it, so I haven't used that one yet. I'm trying to rely on actual merits instead of follower cliches.

I don't understand such strict screen time limits. As adults everything will be on a screen. Might as well start getting good at it.

My kids are I will even let them back on the computer in the evening after dinner if they want to do programming or level editing in Roblox, or make music in garage band, or something else creative.

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

#144

Post by joeberon » Thu, May 05, 2022, 5:20 AM UTC

twayt wrote: post #83

Figure 2 that shows the rates of major depression among boys and girls is shocking. 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 10 boys have been diagnosed with major depression. I wonder what the distribution is of others who haven't been diagnosed or deal with depression to a lower degree. Something that may be surprising to some people is that this trend isn't limited to boys and girls. From data collected in 2019/2020, 30% of people a…

No post body was provided.

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

#145

Post by DrSiemer » Thu, May 05, 2022, 5:20 AM UTC

abdel_nasser wrote: post #43

treespace8 wrote: post #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.

exactly. the equation has changed. people who dont fit in are now even more fucked. everyone is obligated to play this high stakes game that nobody asked for and that wasnt filtered through any kind of intelligent societal deliberation. nobody seems to be worried that kids make the rules in public schools, they bully each other viciously and kids who graduate from the system cant point to the country of portugal on a…

But most of them become very skilled in navigating the social media landscape, which is what actually matters to them.

And the people that don't fit in will usually put more energy in other ways to express themselves and have a much higher chance of becoming Truly Interesting People, if they make it through that pressure cooker.

It's tough and I'm glad I'm not a part of it, but it's not the end of all cohesion in society that some make it out to be.

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

#146

Post by [deleted] » Thu, May 05, 2022, 5:22 AM UTC

treespace8 wrote: post #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.

[deleted]

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

#147

Post by spencerchubb » Thu, May 05, 2022, 5:23 AM UTC

paxys wrote: post #68

Social media definitely amplifies it, but consider the economic and social environment that teenagers have lived through their entire lives. Multiple major recessions, a global pandemic, rising inflation, housing and education getting more expensive by the day, prospect of a mountain of debt right after graduation, climate that will be unlivable in a few decades, political extremism becoming the norm, and massive gov…

If the mental health crisis is exacerbated by other stressors, how does that explain the following? 1) The crisis started suddenly in 2009, 2) It affects girls far more, and 3) It is occurring in many countries.

Haidt brings up those points in the testimony to rule out other factors and prove that social media is specifically to blame.

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

#148

Post by manholio » Thu, May 05, 2022, 5:23 AM UTC

I have an idea: let's body-shame them into believing they were born in the wrong body for their actual gender, and suggest that removing their reproductive organs and a devastating, life-long hormonal treatment will make it all alright.

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

#149

Post by dusing » Thu, May 05, 2022, 5:23 AM UTC

alar44 wrote: post #73

germinalphrase wrote: post #22

My entirely anecdotal impression as a high school teacher is that media (in general, often but not always “social” media) is doing an exceptional job of sucking up teenagers’ every waking moment that is not actively demanded to be focused on something else. It’s pleasure without joy. Ennui without boredom. Their social skills (and social interest) appear markedly reduced even compared to even five years ago. So many…

They probably can't articulate a positive vision because humanity is fucked. That's not social media, that's a fact.

Sounds like media has broken you too. I’m sorry, but we are so far from fucked, the glass is more than half full even

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

#150

Post by Manuel_D » Thu, May 05, 2022, 5:25 AM UTC

graeme wrote: post #134

AbrahamParangi wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Consider the possibility that this perspective might be less a reflection of reality and more a reflection of the media environment.

A lot of that list is pure fact: Multiple major recessions —> 2008 was biggest since 1929. Dunno about multiple a global pandemic —> this happened and is still happening rising inflation —> objectively true. Though I suspect the oncoming recession will quash it as in 2008 housing and education getting more expensive by the day —> huge house and education price increases in past decade, far outstripping inflation pros…

> Which do you think are just products of the media?

A lot of them.

The '08 recession happened when most teenagers were in elementary school. The economy has thoroughly recovered the last several years leading up to COVID.

Mountains of debt after graduating, is only an issue if you plan to go to college. A lot more teenagers are realizing the scam and predation that a university education is unless you've got a serious shot trying to be a doctor or a lawyer. Trades will perform better on average than most non professional fields.

Climate becoming unlivable (for Americans, important caveat). Estimates for climate refugees are ~200 million over the next century even in pessimistic cases, and few of those would be among Americans. The bulk are concentrated in arid or equatorial countries. Which, to be clear, is a massive injustice since those countries are bearing the biggest brunt of climate change while other countries reaped most of the rewards of fossil fuels. But the idea large swaths if the American population is living somewhere that will become unlivable in the next few decades is misinformation.