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Almost half of British teens feel addicted to social media – study

theguardian.com

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Re: Almost half of British teens feel addicted to social media – study

#81

Post by owisd »

tenebrisalietum wrote: post #28
reedf1 wrote: post #7

When did we lose the moral authority to make things illegal for minors? I believe in 50-100 years it will be a worldwide scandal that these skinner boxes were ever given to children let alone adults. AI optimised attention slideshow that likely drains you neurochemically and disrupts your reward circuitry the same way heroin or ecstasy does? On paper this shit should clearly be regulated.

Overdramatic. Social media may be bad but it is not like heroin or ecstasy. Engaging in moral panics, on the other hand, seems to provide a high to some individuals just like heroin or ecstasy. Let's regulate them instead.

With moral panics, the kids would never agree that video games or D&D or whatever was causing them any problems, yet with social media use most kids will agree it’s a problem, so can’t be characterised as a moral panic.

Re: Almost half of British teens feel addicted to social media – study

#82

Post by reducesuffering »

ndsipa_pomu wrote: post #31
ethanbond wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One contributing factor is the surprisingly recent meme that corporations exist solely for the benefit of their shareholders. It’s a totally ahistoric and obviously antisocial meme that gets repeated like it’s gospel, even by otherwise intelligent people. This perspective should be literally laughed at and made fun of as a moral system suitable only for the greediest and most myopic among us.

Isn't it an inevitable part of Capitalism though? If the directors of a corporation start acting to not maximise the shareholders profits, they'll soon be replaced or the corporation bought out by more ruthless/sociopathic people.

You only have to maximize shareholders' profits better than the next best CEO, they have no other option. No one is firing Tim Cook because he made a choice that reduced profits 1%.

Re: Almost half of British teens feel addicted to social media – study

#83

Post by tenebrisalietum »

ndsipa_pomu wrote: post #54
tenebrisalietum wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Heroin physically alters brain chemistry. It's worse.

Mental illnesses also physically alter brain chemistry and anorexia is arguably far more damaging than heroin. Someone can remain addicted to heroin/opiates for decades whilst still being part of society (it tends to be either impurities or inconsistent quality of heroin that causes deaths). It's unlikely that someone will continue suffering from anorexia for a decade.

A conclusion that could be drawn from your statements is this: it's more okay for teenagers to use heroin instead of social media because it's safer.

I think people and especially teenagers, even "chronically-online" depressed ones on social media, would laugh at this. They're wrong to do so, of course.

Re: Almost half of British teens feel addicted to social media – study

#85

Post by ggpsv »

johndhi wrote: post #79
ImAnAmateur wrote: post #9

> “Social media research has largely assumed that [so-called] social media addiction is going to follow the same framework as drug addiction,” said Turner. Orben’s team and others argue that this is likely to be oversimplistic and are investigating whether the teenagers cluster into groups whose behaviour can be predicted by other personality traits. > It could be that, for some, their relationship is akin to a behav…

any tips on how to identify what you're coping for?

Not the parent but I can suggest what has worked for me.

Talking to a therapist can be helpful in getting to the root of it. Meditation also helps, but it may be a longer road. In other words, whatever helps you live a more examined life.

Regarding habits and the habit loop (what's being mentioned here), "The Power of Habit" [0] is a great read.

[0]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Power_of_Habit

Re: Almost half of British teens feel addicted to social media – study

#86

Post by edrxty »

johndhi wrote: post #79
ImAnAmateur wrote: post #9

> “Social media research has largely assumed that [so-called] social media addiction is going to follow the same framework as drug addiction,” said Turner. Orben’s team and others argue that this is likely to be oversimplistic and are investigating whether the teenagers cluster into groups whose behaviour can be predicted by other personality traits. > It could be that, for some, their relationship is akin to a behav…

any tips on how to identify what you're coping for?

No shit, go see a decent therapist. This is literally the core of what they do as a profession. If they aren't helpful, just want to babble about the weather for 45 minutes, whatever, find a different one. PhD > Masters but I've met bad PhDs and good masters clinicians.

Also, if you're struggling with getting things done because you're always dopamine seeking, get checked for ADHD. There are some extremely effective treatments that can make your life way easier if that turns out to be the problem.

Re: Almost half of British teens feel addicted to social media – study

#87

Post by rthkljlkrj »

maven29 wrote: post #36

It would be more productive to stop prodding at the symptoms and instead consider looking into potential root causes like car dependency and commercialization or erosion of third places. Kids aren't just staring at a glowing rectangle due to some unexplainable pharmacological effect it may possess, they just crave human connection and sense of belonging just like everyone else. Using medical terms to dehumanize them…

[dead]

Re: Almost half of British teens feel addicted to social media – study

#88

Post by SirMaster »

andy_ppp wrote: post #58
SirMaster wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Plenty of people use it responsibly. Why should they be punished just because some people can't seem to control their behavior?

That’s good because a quick poll where I am everyone says they would like to reduce social media usage!

I think we should encourage healthier social media practices. Forcing people feels more like a band-aid rather than a proper fix.

I don't think the problem is social media, I think the problem is people honestly.

Re: Almost half of British teens feel addicted to social media – study

#89

Post by righthand »

Repost because of HN’s over-aggressive censorship (m-bation is abbreviated no-no word):

Social media is just psychological m-bation via marketing tactics. Maybe if we called it m-bation people would stop aggressively ignoring the negative effects from habitual use. On the other hand no one openly discusses physical m-bation, just as no one discusses their online identity they’ve cultivated. Get a hobby, gain a skill.

Re: Almost half of British teens feel addicted to social media – study

#90

Post by red-iron-pine »

tenebrisalietum wrote: post #53
ndsipa_pomu wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's already evidence of the harm caused to teenagers' self esteem due to endless comparisons with peers over social media. This leads to many types of mental illness such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders etc. Considering that we're exposing almost the entire teenage population to these harmful effects, it's hardly overdramatic.

Heroin physically alters brain chemistry. It's worse.

heroin isn't readily available to 10 year olds the way tiktok is.

brains rewired from youth by apps that have been unquestionably designed to demand engagement.

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