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]

#221

Post by nicoco » Thu, May 05, 2022, 6:36 AM UTC

jay_kyburz wrote: post #143

silisili wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I agree with you on something: too many discussions mention 'screen time' as if anything done on a screen was perfectly equivalent. I really feel that playing a videogame/coding/doomscrolling/watching ads/reading/... are all very different activities with different consequences.

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

#222

Post by nimos » Thu, May 05, 2022, 6:36 AM UTC

History has proven that making people feel bad about themselves is a very effective marketing tactic.

Algorithms shove skinny, tan and pretty in our faces while advertising things to make us skinny, tan and pretty.

Unconstrained by morals would you rather try to sell to someone of good or poor mental health?

And, what constraints have we placed?

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

#223

Post by watwut » Thu, May 05, 2022, 6:36 AM UTC

kabouseng wrote: post #199

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…

Imagine you were born in 1900. When you're 14, World War I begins and ends when you're 18 with 22 million dead. Soon after a global pandemic, the Spanish Flu, appears, killing 50 million people. And you're alive and 20 years old. When you're 29 you survive the global economic crisis that started with the collapse of the New York Stock Exchange, causing inflation, unemployment and famine. When you're 33 years old the…

Massive issue here is that I did not seen anyone say "grand-grandparents had it easy". Especially not, I have not seen anyone in places affected with above say that. What I have seen is American 20-40 years old saying boomers had it easier. Boomers were not affected by any of the above, they were born after WWII.

If you was born in 1900, you would be 122 years old now.

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

#224

Post by tgv » Thu, May 05, 2022, 6:36 AM UTC

nandhinianand wrote: post #181

tgv wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Multiple major recessions One. They lived through one major recession, and here it wasn't really major, and is not something they lived through recently. They were younger than 6 when it started. I've lived through two. The 80s weren't a happy time, and there are no signs that that had such an impact on teen mental health. If it did, it would be proof that the impact of a major recession is temporary. > prospect of…

>Perhaps it's social media that makes that they are either too aware of it or simply mention it more often. Here's a question for me to understand where you're coming from and you to examine your assumptions. How does "too aware" get defined? Who defines it? I am an 80s kid(though grew up in India) and seen some issues myself, but can't claim I am worse off for knowing what I did. And to be clear, I didn't have inter…

> How does "too aware" get defined? Who defines it?

It doesn't seem that difficult to get a proxy for awareness; perhaps "more aware" had been a better choice of words. But however it's measured, it's not unreasonable to assume that social media can promote awareness, and that thus the effect of social issues on mental health can still be mediated by social media.

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

#225

Post by dragonwriter » Thu, May 05, 2022, 6:38 AM UTC

mjevans wrote: post #207

kabouseng wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Imagine you were born in 1900. When you're 14, World War I begins and ends when you're 18 with 22 million dead. Soon after a global pandemic, the Spanish Flu, appears, killing 50 million people. And you're alive and 20 years old. When you're 29 you survive the global economic crisis that started with the collapse of the New York Stock Exchange, causing inflation, unemployment and famine. When you're 33 years old the…

A child born in the 80s is lucky to still have living parents today, and if they have living grandparents they were probably reluctant to speak to the child during the years both could understand the conversation. Also I don't think those dates quite line up. A better estimate is the range of 20 to 33 (ish) years for most families (I personally would like to hope some start later but kind of doubt this offhand...) Be…

> A child born in the 80s is lucky to still have living parents toda

Average age of the parents at birth in 1980 was around 26-27 years, life expectancy at birth for 1953 is around 74 (men) and 77 (women); even using expectancy at birth instead of life expectancy at 26-27, an average-age parent of a child born in 1980 would be expected, on average, to live into about the late 2020s. And that just gets later for people born later in the 1980s.

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

#226

Post by ginger2016 » Thu, May 05, 2022, 6:40 AM UTC

legostormtroopr wrote: post #131

ginger2016 wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tried listening to more of his arguments after people thought I am misinterpreting his comments on diversity. What about this podcast?, In this he is wishing America was more like Scandinavia. No issue? https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/jonathan-haidt-why-i-change...

Again, you've link to a 40 minute podcast and are expecting to change minds. Additionally, lots of people (and lots of people on the left) want to be more like Scandinavia - public health care, social safety nets, strong unions. Is that a problem too?

I believe he starts of talking about Scandinavia in the 5 minute mark. I can’t find a transcript online, and I am not good at transcribing. I find him arguing out of prejudice against people of color, at-least that is what I got listening to him. Reasonable people can disagree, this is how I see his stance.

I didn’t know who he was until recently, YouTube showed me his videos after I listened to some videos of Jordan Peterson. My reaction after watching a few of his videos was this person doesn’t really like America’s current cultural change. He has repeatedly complained about diversity and inclusion in those videos. I can only conclude he has some issue with diversity, otherwise why talk about it always.

If he doesn’t have an issue with diversity why go to school board meeting and to speak against a policy which will increase participation of African American and Hispanic students?.

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

#227

Post by watwut » Thu, May 05, 2022, 6:40 AM UTC

mlindner wrote: post #157

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…

This is just wrong. Teenagers don't know or care about recessions or inflation as it doesn't affect them. Nor do they know about the cost of housing and education. Teenagers don't care much about the government either. Social media blows up the fear about climate change (it definitely will not be "unlivable") and political extremisism. Being misinformed about things you can do nothing to change isn't good for mental…

> Teenagers don't know or care about recessions or inflation as it doesn't affect them. Nor do they know about the cost of housing and education.

Teenagers are affected by recessions, inflations, housing costs and education. Their parents cant afford things, argue about money, they have to move, loose house, learn they have to take more debt for college or plain cant afford them.

I mean, yes, if your parents are rich, then teenager has zero idea about the above. But, everyone else, poor teenagers, lower and middle class teenagers are affected. know.

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

#228

Post by spullara » Thu, May 05, 2022, 6:40 AM UTC

erddfre3423 wrote: post #219

Social media is bad. What is even worse is that smartphones allow people to use it anywhere, whenever they feel bored. The impact isn't massive just on mental health, but also on general productivity and people's social lives. It's just way too addicting. I work in tech and constantly feel like moving into a forest without internet connection for these reasons.

This is a good test to see if they have what it takes to survive in the metaverse. /s

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

#229

Post by mlindner » Thu, May 05, 2022, 6:41 AM UTC

NalNezumi wrote: post #197

mlindner wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is just wrong. Teenagers don't know or care about recessions or inflation as it doesn't affect them. Nor do they know about the cost of housing and education. Teenagers don't care much about the government either. Social media blows up the fear about climate change (it definitely will not be "unlivable") and political extremisism. Being misinformed about things you can do nothing to change isn't good for mental…

When I was a teenager and 2008 housing crisis happened I cared quite a lot about it. Sure it never affected me personally or anyone around us, but I spent a lot of time watching documentaries and reading articles around it and got upset and cynical about the world/regulatory authorities. It wasn't social media, but ease to pirate movies and looking for documentaries recommendations online that led me to it. This noti…

I was also a teenager in 2008, as were many other people I know. If they weren't affected by it directly, most didn't even care. At the time I remember looking at the stock index dropping with some amusement and went on with my life.

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

#230

Post by erddfre3423 » Thu, May 05, 2022, 6:41 AM UTC

armchairhacker wrote: post #92

recursivedoubts wrote: post #32

Our descendants will look back on us allowing children access to unadulterated social media the way we look back on smoking.

I don’t think limiting information is the solution at least among older teens/young adults. I think people have a right to know the world’s ugly, harsh facts and crazy opinions. Not knowing something doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. I think the solution is to remind them of all the good facts and reasonable opinions. Warn about particularly bad stuff like gore (and do block this content from children until they reach y…

I don't think the problem is necessarily knowing what kind of place the world is, but being constantly reminded by it. I believe social media would be harmful even if it was full of happy news, simply because it provides constant distraction which isn't natural for our brains.

Also, often young people compare their lives to unrealistic images portrayed through social media influencers, and get depressed when their life seems worse. So even "positive" content can be a source of depression.