Schools opened, suicide attempts in girls skyrocketed • Hacker News Board

Re: Schools opened, suicide attempts in girls skyrocketed

#211

Post by mixmastamyk » Sat, Jul 24, 2021, 10:24 PM UTC

Nullabillity wrote: post #199

mixmastamyk wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of folks addicted to social media think it's important that kids get addicted too, like smoking in the old days. Truth is they'd be better off without it, for as long as possible. Focusing on media instead of school is a great way to end up working at a gas station later in life.

Anecdotally, focusing on school and "your future" 24/7 is a great way to end up alone, sad, and directionless in some apartment later in life. Or in a ditch somewhere, when the pressure gets too much.

Those types typically land in the corner office in a skyscraper, or riding a dick into space. A problem few of us will have, with a simple solution.

Re: Schools opened, suicide attempts in girls skyrocketed

#212

Post by mixmastamyk » Sat, Jul 24, 2021, 10:25 PM UTC

tehjoker wrote: post #134

mixmastamyk wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nowadays, corporate and govt surveillance is pervasive. Consequences cannot be "dealt with" after the fact, and deletion is no longer an option. Mistakes are a part of your "permanent record," (with a nod to Jane's Addiction). It's not like the old days when you knew they'd find a Playboy magazine eventually.

For a sec I thought you were talking about Snowden's Book https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250237231

It’s the same phrase, and related, yes.

Re: Schools opened, suicide attempts in girls skyrocketed

#213

Post by starkd » Sat, Jul 24, 2021, 10:32 PM UTC

musingsole wrote: post #200

starkd wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's premature to dismiss the suggestion that school closings are the cause. Suicide is a complex topic, and the pandemic introduced a lot of disruptions not immediately felt. The suicide attempts could very well be a delayed effect, as proposed by the parent comment.

Perhaps, but the desired effect (reduced suicides) was clearly visible during the lockdown. SOMETHING(S) changed that helped more of our children stick around for at least a little bit longer. So what? Whatever the cause, I'm willing to forgo scientific correctness to say what was obvious before the pandemic: OUR SCHOOL SYSTEMS ARE TERRIBLE FOR YOUR HEALTH

They are a bit like modern day prisons, are they not?

Expensive modern day prisons.

Re: Schools opened, suicide attempts in girls skyrocketed

#214

Post by kaminar » Sat, Jul 24, 2021, 10:34 PM UTC

Once again proof that men are more successful.

Re: Schools opened, suicide attempts in girls skyrocketed

#215

Post by TaupeRanger » Sat, Jul 24, 2021, 10:35 PM UTC

endisneigh wrote: post #170

TaupeRanger wrote: post #5

Not sure why the hyperbolic headline, when the article itself just says, paraphrasing, "there might not be any causal relationship between schools being open and suicide attempts, and that goes against the prevailing anti-closing narrative".

There’s no contradiction between your quote and the headline: schools opened and suicide attempts in girls skyrocketed, but the relationship isn't necessarily causal.

Kind of a silly reply. The headline could've just avoided the implication. Imagine the headline: "women started eating more beans, and birth defects skyrocketed". What will people assume, regardless of the content of the article? It's clickbaity, that's the problem.

Re: Schools opened, suicide attempts in girls skyrocketed

#216

Post by Krisjohn » Sat, Jul 24, 2021, 10:39 PM UTC

mprovost wrote: post #20

retrac wrote: post #16

There was something very off before the pandemic. Girls were already diverging sharply from the historical norm and from boys over the last few years: https://els-jbs-prod-cdn.jbs.elsevierhealth.com/cms/attachme... "Sex- and Age-specific Increases in Suicide Attempts by Self-Poisoning in the United States among Youth and Young Adults from 2000 to 2018". It's disproportionately a specific method (poisoning) and it is…

Instagram was founded in 2010.

Then the problem is not Instagram.

When IG first arrived it was basically Flickr for mobiles. It didn't have a horrible algorithm or any real novelty other than being a slick mobile interface for sharing the same stuff that was being shared on the web.

Also, as a working adult, I didn't get my first iPhone until my boss handed it to me in 2010. I doubt a critical mass of 10-14 year old girls were bullying each other on IG from 2010.

Re: Schools opened, suicide attempts in girls skyrocketed

#217

Post by ineedasername » Sat, Jul 24, 2021, 10:40 PM UTC

The number of reported suicide attempts decreased during school closures. That might mean actual attempts decreased too, but it could also be another piece of fallout from people deferring treatment because they or their families didn't want exposure to COVID. Or mental health services were over burdened by increased issues from other areas of the population.

Or it really was going back to a school environment that is often socially toxic. Or some combination of these and other factors.

Re: Schools opened, suicide attempts in girls skyrocketed

#218

Post by tailspin2019 » Sat, Jul 24, 2021, 10:41 PM UTC

bart_spoon wrote: post #201

tailspin2019 wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you asking if social ostracism amongst teenagers is a thing?

They are clearly asking if social ostracism due to not using a social media platform is a thing.

I suppose my comment was a bit snarky because (in my view) social ostracism amongst teenagers is very definitely and obviously a thing for _almost every reason under the sun_ for some groups of kids - it's the nature of being a teenager. Emotional intelligence is not highly developed at that age, so social bubbles/cliques can be (but definitely not always) a bit fickle/fragile. Hence the topic of this article.

Being prevented from using a social media platform at that age, that one's peers are all on would definitely lead to possible social issues in some groups.

I'm assuming the commenter I was responding to is not a teenager (given mention of Facebook being their peer group's primary social media platform), so their experience of their peers being able to use social media in a more healthy manner is unlikely to map to the teenage experience.

Some assumptions on my part. Not the most constructive "best possible interpretation" response, I'll admit. I'm also not expressing a strong opinion that kids should be "allowed" or "blocked" from usage of social media. It's a very tricky issue but absolutely not one to be dismissive of.

Re: Schools opened, suicide attempts in girls skyrocketed

#219

Post by qwerty456127 » Sat, Jul 24, 2021, 10:43 PM UTC

ineedasername wrote: post #217

The number of reported suicide attempts decreased during school closures. That might mean actual attempts decreased too, but it could also be another piece of fallout from people deferring treatment because they or their families didn't want exposure to COVID. Or mental health services were over burdened by increased issues from other areas of the population. Or it really was going back to a school environment that i…

To me it seems school environment always is extremely toxic. Probably the most toxic thing I can imagine. Perhaps prisons are worse but I'm not sure.

Re: Schools opened, suicide attempts in girls skyrocketed

#220

Post by magicalhippo » Sat, Jul 24, 2021, 10:45 PM UTC

lupire wrote: post #142

base698 wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Instagram kills, from Coddling: > U.S. hospitals going back to 2001 and were able to estimate self-harm rates for the entire country. They found that the rate for boys held steady at roughly 200 per hundred thousand boys in the age range of fifteen to nineteen. The rate for girls in that age range was much higher, but had also been relatively steady from 2001 to 2009, at around 420 per hundred thousand girls. Beginni…

Has anyone checked Instagram use among those girls and others?

Our national broadcaster NRK had a series[1] specifically about suicide amongst teenage girls and their use of Instagram. From what they found[2], one suicide would trigger other attempts, often copying the method used.

It seems clear to me this isn't random.

[1]: https://www.nrk.no/emne/trigger-warning-1.14739155

[2]: https://www.nrk.no/spesial/det-skjulte-nettverket-1.14739159