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]

#781

Post by timst4 » Thu, May 05, 2022, 4:19 PM UTC

Lots of politically charged comments here, but I actually work with students on a daily basis. It’s not about politics, people.

Social media does play a role, but not in the way most would argue. All those saying it is an addiction are correct, but I would expand it to include most of the teen internet as well.

The thing is they don’t use technology like you do. They are CONSUMED by digital media if they don’t receive boundaries from home. Their lives are dominated by the virtual - memes, tiktok, news, Netflix, YouTube and they have been since an early age. They know this is not a healthy lifestyle and yet they cannot tear themselves away. Many are hopelessly addicted to the point of sacrificing sleep, food, and relationships to technology addiction.

Meanwhile, most teenagers are well aware of the problems they will inherit (climate, political divide, cost of living, etc) from the previous generations. I had to talk 7th graders off of a ledge this week after one student started a discussion about the latest IPCC report. However this alone isn’t the problem.

It is the vast DISJUNCTION between these two worlds that causes them stress. They have been raised by predatory technology into a world full of greed and a collapsing ecosystem. They are caught between virtual consumerist addiction and despair about reality on a daily basis.

Super heavy stuff for anyone to deal with.

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

#782

Post by Longhanks » Thu, May 05, 2022, 4:19 PM UTC

exit wrote: post #663

Longhanks wrote: post #298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I grew up in Germany, so I was told stories of my grandfather, who lived through an entire world war, his home, home town, home country being entirely destroyed, being denied the return to his home since it was annexed and now behind the iron curtain, civilians he knew being murdered, pieces of butter being the best currency available, the nonexistence of any infrastructure such as roads, the very definition of polit…

> Yet, he and many others lived. mere survival shouldn't impress anyone

He was quite content, a tax payer for 30+ years and a loving husband, father and grandfather.

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

#783

Post by themitigating » Thu, May 05, 2022, 4:19 PM UTC

gilbetron wrote: post #584

radarsat1 wrote: post #502

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Diversity is good, but being ____ is bad. Can you fill in the blank? I actually have no idea what you are referring to here.

As an example from my son, a 13 year old white kid, gave me is that if you have one of the "diversity cards" (minority, LGBQT+, female sometimes, or some other thing) than you get to joke and talk in a way than those that don't have such a card. So his friends that are gay or black or indian or disabled are able to tease each other about it and have more liberty to use terms that my son is not allowed to. The gay kid…

No one teaches that you because you are a minority you are allowed to tease other minorities

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

#784

Post by qiskit » Thu, May 05, 2022, 4:21 PM UTC

solenoidalslide wrote: post #771

qiskit wrote: post #758

That's because politics became injected into social media/internet. The problem isn't social media per se, it's politics, news, media, etc that has overrun social media in the past 15 years. Before Obama, the internet and social media was place for young people to goof off. Then obama used youtube/etc to reach young people and then the lgbt/news/media/leftists went crazy on social media paving the way for Trump - whi…

The fact that people exist who actually blame Obama should be proof enough that our society was mentally ill far before social media.

> The fact that people exist who actually blame Obama

I don't blame Obama. I supported him. My point isn't that Obama is the problem, my point is that politics is the problem.

> should be proof enough that our society was mentally ill far before social media.

That's the point. Politics was toxic and has always been. Politics, the source of toxicity, got injected into social media starting with Obama. Then the lgbt/news/leftists ran with it and injected more toxicity. Which led to an opportunist like Trump taking advantage and injecting even more toxicity.

Once again, politics is the toxic agent that is hurting people on social media. Not social media itself.

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

#785

Post by rendang » Thu, May 05, 2022, 4:21 PM UTC

rendall wrote: post #237

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…

> Teens are aware that they are going to inherit a pretty terrible world With respect, I truly mean no insult when I say this is a naive and ignorant position. By every measure, the world is generally better than it has ever been. Far better than any decade in the past you could care to name. Despite media doom-and-glooming, there is every reason to expect that teens will inherit an overall materially better world th…

> generally better > materially better

Those are not always equivalent. Think "Brave New World"

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

#786

Post by rmbyrro » Thu, May 05, 2022, 4:24 PM UTC

indymike wrote: post #481

Unpopular opinion: Social media is a great scapegoat, but it is not the source of the problem. It is where they go to communicate and cope. My sole qualification to post this: I have four kids that are either teens or in their early 20s, and one who will be a teen next year. Here is what I see out there: 1. Kids have little or no slack in their schedule. This means very little freedom, and very little time to work th…

No wonder home education (or homeschooling) is on the rise.

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

#787

Post by carabiner » Thu, May 05, 2022, 4:26 PM UTC

indymike wrote: post #481

Unpopular opinion: Social media is a great scapegoat, but it is not the source of the problem. It is where they go to communicate and cope. My sole qualification to post this: I have four kids that are either teens or in their early 20s, and one who will be a teen next year. Here is what I see out there: 1. Kids have little or no slack in their schedule. This means very little freedom, and very little time to work th…

Your post refers to upper middle class kids in progressive schools, with dare I say helicopter parents, aiming for 4-year universities. I grew up like that. Your average hispanic kid in east LA has a very different life. You have to remember 99% of students are not heading to elite colleges, and even a majority aren't going to a 4-year university. Most are headed to 2-year programs, vocational schools, or trades.

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

#788

Post by juanani » Thu, May 05, 2022, 4:27 PM UTC

theclansman wrote: post #633

roland35 wrote: post #572

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The internet was certainly a lot lower stakes and fun in the 90s and early 2000s. We had fun taking over the mic and singing karaoke in Yahoo chatrooms, watching albino black sheep, and playing flash games on kongregator. Even early Facebook was just making funny groups and posting in each other's walls. None of those activities really had me envying anyone else. I remember the first thing that made me feel worthless…

Yeah same, the internet of early 2000s was a super cozy place for me, I remember everyone at first was like "wow it's so amazing how you can be someone else online," now the internet is just a giant window to your life. I remember my mom telling me to never share any info about me online, now everyone has their entire lives uploaded, full name, face picture, phone number, it's all there. Funny thing is it didn't actu…

No post body was provided.

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

#789

Post by theonlybutlet » Thu, May 05, 2022, 4:28 PM UTC

imbnwa wrote: post #751

randomsearch wrote: post #686

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Unpopular opinion: Social media is a great scapegoat, On HN that's likely to be a popular opinion, given how many members here probably work in social media corporations. I have lots of experience looking after relatives' kids in the UK and your points don't apply at all to them. It's anecdata vs anecdata, but yours doesn't refute the article, and given your opinion may well suit HN biases well (we don't want to th…

I'm surprised there's little discussion of how it affects people who aren't legal minors

Yeah, every now and then my wife takes a break when she starts getting this overriding feeling of being inadequate. Maybe it's a placebo or maybe not,but atleast it works.

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

#790

Post by themitigating » Thu, May 05, 2022, 4:29 PM UTC

rapind wrote: post #608

raxxorraxor wrote: post #589

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree completely, but blocking access is something different than surveilling their every click. At some point children will look at content the parents don't approve off and for many that can be important. You probably just have to remind yourself of your own childhood. Perhaps a few years longer than 10 stronger supervision is needed, granted, but at some point children profit from a little distance from their pa…

Absolutely. Best we can do is try to gradually prepare them for the horrific (/s) things they will be exposed to. I constantly worry they are too isolated from danger these days to be honest (compared to my childhood).

What about reducing the amount of horrific things that occur?