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Study: emotional support from social media found to reduce anxiety

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Re: Study: emotional support from social media found to reduce anxiety

#31

Post by jancsika »

mjburgess wrote: post #19

I think there's a non-trivial probability that concern over social media is a moral panic, and it's being used as a scapegoat for larger social forces. I wonder if much of what it does is surface our neuroses and issues into public, and thus here we are only shooting the messenger. This may prove out if after 5yr+ of it being banned or limited, nothing changes in the youth (et al.) -- that would be my prediction. I t…

> This may prove out if after 5yr+ of it being banned or limited, nothing changes in the youth (et al.) -- that would be my prediction.

You're speculation here could be a counterargument to Jonathan Haidt's meta studies on the effects of social media on teenage girls, if you can supplement your speculation with a better explanation for the increase in major depressive episodes in the time range he cites than the correlation with Instagram use.

For this article, however, all the participants are aged 18-30. Using it as a jumping off point to paint all concern over social media as a "moral panic" is reductive and unhelpful.

Re: Study: emotional support from social media found to reduce anxiety

#32

Post by austin-cheney »

mjburgess wrote: post #19

I think there's a non-trivial probability that concern over social media is a moral panic, and it's being used as a scapegoat for larger social forces. I wonder if much of what it does is surface our neuroses and issues into public, and thus here we are only shooting the messenger. This may prove out if after 5yr+ of it being banned or limited, nothing changes in the youth (et al.) -- that would be my prediction. I t…

This can be proven. Simply measure a population of typical social media users for relative measures of neuroticism. Then have an experiment population of healthy military leaders and police officers that have low social media use. The assumption is that the second population would score dramatically lower in neuroticism than the population average.

That establishes a of divergent populations baseline. The change their, such as deny, social media access or content. Measure the change to those two populations.

Assumed facts:

* social media access dramatically increases prevalence of anxiety and a state of dependency/addition. When true, removal of social media triggers addiction withdrawal that displays as emotional health illnesses.

* Populations that do not frequently make use of social media are not at risk of withdrawal.

* persons in high risk professions are typically conditioned into states of substantially lower neuroticism that population averages are not exposed to

Re: Study: emotional support from social media found to reduce anxiety

#34

Post by jwoods19 »

elliottkember wrote: post #16

Maybe social media is like cigarettes, in that it cures the anxiety it causes. A powerfully addictive cycle.

I think of social media as the fast food of the information landscape. It’s okay to have it a time or two a week but if it’s your entire information and entertainment “diet”, you’re going to feel sick.

Our brains aren’t designed to be lit up with dopamine every 5 seconds for hours on end nor are they designed for foods that are high in sugars, fats, and salts every day.

Re: Study: emotional support from social media found to reduce anxiety

#35

Post by germinalphrase »

dmje wrote: post #30
mjburgess wrote: post #19

I think there's a non-trivial probability that concern over social media is a moral panic, and it's being used as a scapegoat for larger social forces. I wonder if much of what it does is surface our neuroses and issues into public, and thus here we are only shooting the messenger. This may prove out if after 5yr+ of it being banned or limited, nothing changes in the youth (et al.) -- that would be my prediction. I t…

Here's my take: the bigger picture is one of "lessening humanity" - and it's death by a million paper cuts. Social media is one of the bigger cuts, but it's an awful lot of other things as well. Being on screens all the time - especially when out and about (and whether it's social media or maps, it doesn't really matter) - means less casual conversation, less "hello, how you doing", less banter, less touch points wit…

That social networks became social media indicates a clear shift in incentives toward social atomization and shallow substitutes for human connection/affection/bonding/sexual satisfaction/etc.

It is likely possible to disambiguate these concepts and build prosocial networks, if we want such a thing or believe it can work.

Re: Study: emotional support from social media found to reduce anxiety

#36

Post by mjburgess »

austin-cheney wrote: post #32
mjburgess wrote: post #19

I think there's a non-trivial probability that concern over social media is a moral panic, and it's being used as a scapegoat for larger social forces. I wonder if much of what it does is surface our neuroses and issues into public, and thus here we are only shooting the messenger. This may prove out if after 5yr+ of it being banned or limited, nothing changes in the youth (et al.) -- that would be my prediction. I t…

This can be proven. Simply measure a population of typical social media users for relative measures of neuroticism. Then have an experiment population of healthy military leaders and police officers that have low social media use. The assumption is that the second population would score dramatically lower in neuroticism than the population average. That establishes a of divergent populations baseline. The change thei…

It's hard to control for mere provision of social media access. Eg., if you're supposed to be out in the field all day, when are you mean to access social media?

Social media is, in that case, a replacement activity.

The question, which is i think unanswered, is whether and what its replacing in the lives of children. It may turn out to be: not much. That when taken away, children don't suddenly get more time, attention, socialisation, etc. instead, they just get less. Or that the kinds of tech hellholes theyre dumped in have purely passive interaction, eg., ipad kids.

Re: Study: emotional support from social media found to reduce anxiety

#37

Post by flatline »

anoplus wrote: post #33

I am determined to find real life local connections. No doom scrolling, no “social” media no hacker news

You and me both. No dating sites either, if I'm not crossing paths with someone in the wild through the course of my everyday activity, we are probably not a fit. I have found social media tremendously helpful at connecting people to real-life local activities, but I also had to move to a place that actually had enough of those for it to matter. There are plenty of places that never had much going on, and what social fabric did exist has been worn thin by social media, which offers a poor replacement.

Re: Study: emotional support from social media found to reduce anxiety

#38

Post by csours »

1. (Big one) For virtually EVERY study, and especially human science studies like psychology, sociology, health; The Headline of the Press Release will imply things that the study does not claim, and especially that the study does not provide evidence for.

This headline seems to imply quite a lot for a relatively small study based on survey responses.

2. For the mass market social media platforms, it's pretty easy to get emotional support inside your bubble, at the cost of ... everything else.

I feel like the huge and obvious problems with social media hide a small and subtle, but insidious problem: How do I show that I care about you?

I feel like there is a range that might be described:

    I don't care very much about you one way or another. (Small/no signal on social media, very unlikely to be boosted)

    I care enough to fight for you. (Big Signal on social media, likely to be boosted)

    I care enough to calmly discuss the problem. (Small signal on social media, unlikely to be boosted, likely to be trolled, unsatisfying in the face of active fighting words)
To be explicit: because fights are boosted, fights are expected. People are prepared to fight about things offline.

Re: Study: emotional support from social media found to reduce anxiety

#39

Post by ecshafer »

mjburgess wrote: post #19

I think there's a non-trivial probability that concern over social media is a moral panic, and it's being used as a scapegoat for larger social forces. I wonder if much of what it does is surface our neuroses and issues into public, and thus here we are only shooting the messenger. This may prove out if after 5yr+ of it being banned or limited, nothing changes in the youth (et al.) -- that would be my prediction. I t…

> lack of time for parenting

The average father in present day spends more time with their kids weekly than the average mother did in 1960.

> helicopter parenting caused by breakdown of social trust

This one is more likely I think. Kids aren't able to just run around anymore.

> lack of infrastructure and provision of environments where children can be known safe in public

Kids can not safely ride their bikes a few miles across town. Fewer sidewalks, bigger cars. Distracted drivers. Its a death sentence.

Re: Study: emotional support from social media found to reduce anxiety

#40

Post by mhitza »

mjburgess wrote: post #19

I think there's a non-trivial probability that concern over social media is a moral panic, and it's being used as a scapegoat for larger social forces. I wonder if much of what it does is surface our neuroses and issues into public, and thus here we are only shooting the messenger. This may prove out if after 5yr+ of it being banned or limited, nothing changes in the youth (et al.) -- that would be my prediction. I t…

Teens and social media rethoric in my country right now is very close to the "video games cause violence" type of argument.

They always fixate on external things instead of strictly looking at it as internal economic and social shortcomings.

There was a short time, between 2012/2013-2020 when the "kids were alright", though a bit worse in school than previous generations.

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