Yes, social media is a cause of the epidemic of teenage mental illness • Hacker News Board

Re: Yes, social media is a cause of the epidemic of teenage mental illness

#821

Post by khazhoux » Wed, Apr 10, 2024, 4:44 PM UTC

randomdata wrote: post #486

skilled wrote: post #337

I'm no saint when it comes to addiction and being on my phone for more than I should be, but I have a sister who is in her mid 20s right now, and for the last couple of years she has slowly isolated herself from life and her family, she spends most of her time in her room on the phone and does weird things like get cosmetic surgeries, ordering cosmetics, etc. It's bizarre. She does this and all the while never leaves…

> She doesn't share her actual thoughts That's where social media has been most damaging. You can't share your thoughts anymore. The 'Redditization' of the world means that sharing thoughts is met with hostility. No longer can you just throw something out there, no matter how stupid. These days you have carry an entire encyclopedia with you in order to back up every last thing you say and if you utter anything that i…

> The 'Redditization' of the world means that sharing thoughts is met with hostility

I think the actual biggest problem with "Redditization" is not hostility, but instead the fact that there is really no dialogue. There's no back and forth discussion, at least not with the same actual individual. You post a comment and (maybe but usually not) get a reply, then if you reply to that reply, the next reply in thread will be from someone else. Very very rarely do you go back and forth with one person. And regardless, you'll never ever interact with that person again (except maybe if you're on a tiny sub).

It's such a odd and distorted version of conversation. I'm not talking to any specific "you" -- I'm submitting thoughts to a "mass-you" and hoping with fingers crossed that the mass-you will reply or at least nod in approval with a single upvote.

Re: Yes, social media is a cause of the epidemic of teenage mental illness

#822

Post by EchoReflection » Wed, Apr 10, 2024, 4:47 PM UTC

Haidt is also co-author of the extremely relevant, data-rich, and well-researched book "The Coddling of the American Mind", which is definitely worth every modern human's time/money/attention. In the book he and co-author Greg Lukianoff discuss and provide numerous examples of how modern universities are promoting "three great untruths", namely:

1.You must strive to avoid bad experiences at all costs.

2.You must always trust your emotions over reason.

3.The world is a black-and-white battle between good people and bad people; there is no middle ground.

The content of that book made me feel some very visceral contempt (which I realize is not good for ME) tfor the administrators/university bureaucrats that are basically poisoning/corrupting tens of millions of minds every year*.

https://www.betterworldbooks.com/product/detail/the-coddling...

https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Coddling-of-the-American-Mind...

---

*I wasn't sure how many people are enrolled in post-secondary educational institutions around the world so I asked chatGPT and it's response was:

me: approximately how many humans are enrolled in college or university in any given year

chatGPT: As of recent data, there are typically over 19 million students enrolled in degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the United States alone. Globally, the number of students enrolled in colleges and universities is much larger, estimated to be in the hundreds of millions. These numbers can vary slightly from year to year due to factors like population growth, economic conditions, and educational policies.

Re: Yes, social media is a cause of the epidemic of teenage mental illness

#823

Post by jmilloy » Wed, Apr 10, 2024, 4:48 PM UTC

microtonal wrote: post #273

rgbrenner wrote: post #145

The author had it right in the first paragraph. In the 90s version of this hysteria, Congress passed a law that would have prevented access to education medical information, dirty curse words, and other filth from being published on the internet to protect the children. The federal government fought a case all the way to the Supreme Court to enforce it. If they had won that case, the internet would look very differen…

if you don't like these products and feel they are negative, then don't use them. Restrict your children's access to these platforms. If it was only this simple. It's similar to the green bubble problem. Disallowing your kids to use these platforms leads to social isolation. All the other kids are on these platforms and a lot of the talk is about what happened on these platforms (it's similar with games like Roblox f…

In general, I agree with you, and for the record, I'm in favor of general restrictions or limitations on social media for children. At the same, I want to add that I was not allowed to watch violent cartoons or play violent video games as a kid in the 90s. I felt left out on the playground when I didn't know how to play X-Men or Power Rangers or whatever. But in retrospect it was fine. I'm not sure the social isolation factor in particular is as dire as you claim.

Re: Yes, social media is a cause of the epidemic of teenage mental illness

#824

Post by anavette » Wed, Apr 10, 2024, 4:48 PM UTC

skilled wrote: post #337

I'm no saint when it comes to addiction and being on my phone for more than I should be, but I have a sister who is in her mid 20s right now, and for the last couple of years she has slowly isolated herself from life and her family, she spends most of her time in her room on the phone and does weird things like get cosmetic surgeries, ordering cosmetics, etc. It's bizarre. She does this and all the while never leaves…

Your sister sounds like my brother (minus the cosmetics— his focus is on other things). I can deeply relate to your experience.

I'd highly recommend the book "Hikikomori: Adolescence Without End" by Saito Tamaki, translated by Jeffrey Angles. First published in 1998 it describes the "hikikomori" social/psychological phenomenon, and ways treatment has been approached. Ultimately, Saito observes that nobody can "fix" the individual hikikomori directly— therapy must be multi-faceted, continuous, and ongoing, focused on reducing stigma and shame. And for all that, may ultimately not be effective.

Re: Yes, social media is a cause of the epidemic of teenage mental illness

#825

Post by spxneo » Wed, Apr 10, 2024, 4:48 PM UTC

rangestransform wrote: post #810

spxneo wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah but you see the problem with West is that it fears and mistrusts any type of government interference but okay with covert surveillance (because im not a terrorist). The truth is Asian merit based dictatorship has transformed farm lands to economic giants within a generation, stable, peaceful society. Singapore wouldn't be where it is without government intervention. South Korea would've never been able to create S…

fwiw i'm not ok with either overt government interference or covert warrantless surveillance

1) escape The Five Guys country via acquiring citizenship in a non-Five Guys country with a small government. I don't know which ones out there hasn't signed a treaty with Five Guys besides China & Russia (not very popular)

2) escape countries with overt government interference wary of western liberal progressivism/multiculturalism

very little places to go in this world, pros & cons

Re: Yes, social media is a cause of the epidemic of teenage mental illness

#826

Post by dragonwriter » Wed, Apr 10, 2024, 4:51 PM UTC

spxneo wrote: post #825

rangestransform wrote: post #810

Earlier quoted context omitted.

fwiw i'm not ok with either overt government interference or covert warrantless surveillance

1) escape The Five Guys country via acquiring citizenship in a non-Five Guys country with a small government. I don't know which ones out there hasn't signed a treaty with Five Guys besides China & Russia (not very popular) 2) escape countries with overt government interference wary of western liberal progressivism/multiculturalism very little places to go in this world, pros & cons

> escape The Five Guys country [...] a non-Five Guys country

I suspect you are referring to something else here.

Five Guys: https://www.fiveguys.com/

Five Eyes: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Eyes

Re: Yes, social media is a cause of the epidemic of teenage mental illness

#827

Post by abustamam » Wed, Apr 10, 2024, 4:55 PM UTC

Lacerda69 wrote: post #776

mindcrime wrote: post #688

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The world is full of people who disagree with you, but you need to learn more than ever to recognize and filter out what you don't care about. I don't even view replies to posts any longer, 98% of the time because I am not seeking validation sharing my opinion. This is something it's taken me a while to come to terms with. I used to want to fully engage with everybody and everything. It was anathema to me to just "br…

I no longer say things online except some rare occasions. Mass social media online discourse will slowly vanish in the next 15 yrs

Is this one of those rare occasions? :)

I don't think HN is immune from the "redditization" of the internet, though it's certainly a better community than most.

Re: Yes, social media is a cause of the epidemic of teenage mental illness

#828

Post by navane » Wed, Apr 10, 2024, 4:58 PM UTC

rkuykendall-com wrote: post #803

WheatMillington wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ugh as a parent I know I need to be doing this, but I'm so bad at it.

I'm going to address you because you sound like a parent as well and I want to seriously discuss the alternatives. For three hours in the evening 5 days a week plus ~12 hours on weekends at least half of watching kids is almost as engaging as staring at a wall. Keeping them fed, entertained, alive, and healthy can be fun and engaging like rolling around or story time or singing songs, or if she wants help learning ab…

Cook and clean? Long roasts with a side of dusting?

Re: Yes, social media is a cause of the epidemic of teenage mental illness

#829

Post by pgwhalen » Wed, Apr 10, 2024, 4:58 PM UTC

yawboakye wrote: post #409

skilled wrote: post #337

I'm no saint when it comes to addiction and being on my phone for more than I should be, but I have a sister who is in her mid 20s right now, and for the last couple of years she has slowly isolated herself from life and her family, she spends most of her time in her room on the phone and does weird things like get cosmetic surgeries, ordering cosmetics, etc. It's bizarre. She does this and all the while never leaves…

i find this to be, unfortunately, the current western stance on responsibility towards anyone: irresponsibility. for some reason, leaving people to go their way, wherever it may lead them, has been interpreted to be the good and the moral duty of anyone who understands what freedom (for intelligent beings) means. with all due respect, that’s cowardice and a neglect of duty. i explained to my sibling the other day tha…

I like that layers of responsibility theory, and applaud you if you live your life by it.

One thing I would amend for myself - I don't think I feel as though I have responsibility to the environment in and of itself. I am an environmentalist, but that follows from my duty to the human race. The earth will keep on earthing either way.

Re: Yes, social media is a cause of the epidemic of teenage mental illness

#830

Post by abustamam » Wed, Apr 10, 2024, 4:58 PM UTC

hbn wrote: post #767

amplex1337 wrote: post #646

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You certainly can just throw things out there, but if you are obsessed with making every single person satisfied with your thoughts, you are going to have a bad time. The world is full of people who disagree with you, but you need to learn more than ever to recognize and filter out what you don't care about. I don't even view replies to posts any longer, 98% of the time because I am not seeking validation sharing my…

Saying things that were obvious scientific facts 5 years ago are now controversial and can now get you fired from your job -- and people are more gung-ho than ever to seek out anyone who says something "wrong" and try to ruin their life over it. That's why I don't speak my opinions to anyone other than people I'm close with.

Can you provide some examples? There have always been companies where certain opinions were deemed "controversial" and could get someone fired. I think it's more common now though, and with more opinions being considered controversial, but I can't think of any that would be considered scientific facts. I wouldn't want to work for a company that considers science controversial anyway.