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]

#861

Post by DougN7 » Thu, May 05, 2022, 7:54 PM UTC

throwaway787544 wrote: post #508

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…

It's not the only source of the problem, but social media is certainly a big one. Back in the day you didn't get rape threats from 50 anonymous accounts, or see pictures of you photoshopped sucking dicks, or feel like even more of a loser because you see in 4K detail how everybody else in class is having more fun outside of school. The internet is a threat and embarrassment and envy machine. You feel like you're cons…

I had an epiphany below that it’s not just internet/social media as much as ALWAYS being connected to it via smart phones/tablets. Back in the day you got up and walked away, went outside, watched TV and you were completely away from it. Now we all carry it with is everywhere we go.

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

#862

Post by fleddr » Thu, May 05, 2022, 8:01 PM UTC

t-3 wrote: post #824

fleddr wrote: post #681

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fully wrong, which you would have known had you bothered to read it. Additional data does NOT account for the increase in mental health issues.

Mental health being a thing probably does though. I'm 31, and even when I was a kid, mental health issues were very stigmatized. Nowadays, they're not. Why wouldn't you expect more mental health issues?

The point is not that there isn't more willingness to report mental health issues, the point is that the research already accounted for that effect, and it doesn't change the conclusion.

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

#863

Post by moonchrome » Thu, May 05, 2022, 8:01 PM UTC

y4mi wrote: post #458

moonchrome wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You think teenagers are thinking about pensions... If they are they are probably already having mental issues because that's not something someone pre 20s should be concerned about. People in this thread need to stop projecting their problems and worldviews as universal social issues.

> You think teenagers are thinking about pensions... A lot of them will be doing that, yes. They're teenagers until their 20th birthday, and a lot of people start to work between 16 and 20. In Germany, all of them will be paying a lot of their paycheck for the current pensioners. It's called a generational contract here, and it boils down to current workers paying the current pensions - so when theyre ready for their…

I've started working in my teens - retirement was the last thing on my mind, my peers as well.

If you're worried about that in your youth you're setting yourself up for a boring and depressing life. Youth should be about exploration, taking on challenges and risks, figuring out what you want to do in life - not thinking about what you're going to do past your productive years.

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

#864

Post by spacechild1 » Thu, May 05, 2022, 8:04 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

My wife had to stop Facebook because it made her feel aweful.

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

#865

Post by fleddr » Thu, May 05, 2022, 8:04 PM UTC

dtjb wrote: post #851

fleddr wrote: post #681

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fully wrong, which you would have known had you bothered to read it. Additional data does NOT account for the increase in mental health issues.

I read the posted paper. Please point out where the authors factor in improvements to how we elicit, diagnose, and catalog mental health problems today. I was specifically looking for it and couldn't find it. The paper mentions the historical increase in 1.2 and 1.3 but offers no context or mitigation for long-term improvements in mental health reporting. Their NYTimes source in that section only goes back one decade…

Look up the video where the researcher summarizes his research to congress (I think it's congress), there he explicitly goes into this point.

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

#866

Post by moonchrome » Thu, May 05, 2022, 8:14 PM UTC

maeln wrote: post #258

moonchrome wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You think teenagers are thinking about pensions... If they are they are probably already having mental issues because that's not something someone pre 20s should be concerned about. People in this thread need to stop projecting their problems and worldviews as universal social issues.

Idk but in France, when I was still a teenager, it was not that uncommon to talk/joke about the fact that we will never be able to retire. In high school, most of my classmate already started to have a political conscience and where thinking about this kind of stuff. Same with the environment. We already had social media at the time (mostly facebook) and yes, I won't deny that there was already something anxious abou…

I've known this since I was a teen in Croatia as well, two decades ago. Doesn't mean I was planning for retirement or depressed by it. There's a huge leap between knowing generational national pension systems are bust and being depressed about retirement as a teenager.

Teen years are about forming a self image - social media fucks that up in so many ways - it's really next level compared to what my generation had growing up. Glad it was just starting when I was a teenager.

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

#867

Post by s1artibartfast » Thu, May 05, 2022, 8:22 PM UTC

diordiderot wrote: post #859

s1artibartfast wrote: post #777

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of these anxieties are psychologically self imposed and a cultural failing that focuses on materialism. In the US, you are considered a failure if you don't own your own mansion by European standards and achieve a high degree of professional success. Essentially being compared to a standard that only 1% of people will ever achieve.

1 in 5 American children are food insecure. I think the problem is bigger than materialism.

This number looks a lot scarier than it is. Food "insecurity" is an arbitrary threshold based largely on how people feel. Based on the same data, children very rarely go hungry in America.

0.6% of children skipped a single meal in a 12 month period. 0.9% of children got hungry at least once in a 12 month period.

alternatively, you and your children are considered insecure if in a 12 month period they answer yes to the following:

A parent lost weight

Adult(s) cut size or skipped meals in 3 or more months

Relied on few kinds of low-cost food to feed child(ren)

Here is the actual USDA survey data that supports that fact:

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10995-021-03320-2

more background:

https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/fo...

https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/313486/

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

#868

Post by moonchrome » Thu, May 05, 2022, 8:23 PM UTC

cycomanic wrote: post #479

moonchrome wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You think teenagers are thinking about pensions... If they are they are probably already having mental issues because that's not something someone pre 20s should be concerned about. People in this thread need to stop projecting their problems and worldviews as universal social issues.

> You think teenagers are thinking about pensions... If they are they are probably already having mental issues because that's not something someone pre 20s should be concerned about. I was actually just talking with a teacher friend about this very thing (he lives in Germany btw). He was essentially expressing his surprise that the high-school students (well Gymnasium technically), were at the age of ~17-19 already…

I agree with you - and I've noticed this trend with my teenage brother as well - it seems like prepping for career since kindergarten really peaked - but I wouldn't say this has much to do with retirement planning. I do think kids these days have a lot of pressure from early on to perform, at least from what I see anecdotally.

Being expected to go to a good college, and that being seen as a gateway to decent standard of living is having an effect on kids for sure.

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

#869

Post by Teknoman117 » Thu, May 05, 2022, 8:26 PM UTC

taylodl wrote: post #831

op00to wrote: post #798

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was emotionally and psychically abused in cub scouts, led by the pack leader because I did not buy into her specific image of evangelical Christianity. This was in a suburb outside of NYC in the 90s. the lack of oversight and vetting allowed this to proceed and turned more than a few kids off Boy scouting. I would send my kids to Baden-Powell scouting if that was an option.

Had a similar experience with Cub Scouts in the 70's. I just stopped going. Joined the Boy Scouts because I had several friends who'd joined and were talking about the awesome camping adventures they had. That went well until the Scoutmaster quit 2-3 years later for whatever reason. The new Scoutmaster wasn't into the high adventure camping and believed the troop should head another direction. That was the end for me…

> The new Scoutmaster wasn't into the high adventure camping and believed the troop should head another direction. That was the end for me.

The high-adventure trips were the best part for me. The multi-week canoeing trip in the boundary waters between Minnesota and Canada (northern-tier), multi-week sailing trip and snorkeling in the Florida Keys, the Philmont backing trip, etc. Our troop took backpacking trips on the Appalachian Trail in Georgia, Talladega national forest in Alabama, etc. Many fun memories with family and friends.

I was in 3 troops as a kid due to moving around. The troop in the Chicago area was a fantastic example of a by-the-book Boy Scout troop. The scouts ran the show and the adults only got involved if we were about to do something very stupid (making non-dangerous mistakes and learning from them is an important part of maturing), or if the decision required an adult to sign off (spending troop money, etc.). The one in Alabama was more laid back, kind of boy and adult led, but the adults definitely did more of the work than the chicago area troop. The one in the bay area I joined ended up being a rich kid dick measuring contest and I quickly left the troop, which was the end of my time in the Boy Scouts.

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

#870

Post by fleddr » Thu, May 05, 2022, 8:30 PM UTC

glitcher wrote: post #683

fleddr wrote: post #677

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How can you confidently say social media is not the source of the problem when the author of the PDF has researched it for as long as it exists and makes strong evidence-based claims? With his key point being the change being sudden and dramatic, which exactly aligns with the rise of social media in the timeline. He's one of the leading authorities on the matter, and your take is...nah, not true.

I wouldn't say OP's take is not true, but simply based on anecdotal evidence from a very small sample size. However, I still disagree with that take personally.

Agree. I didn't necessarily mean to attack those points, rather I'm annoyed by this entire discussion on HN.

Clearly, most people didn't bother to read the PDF, check additional sources or do a basic background check on the author, whom is a well known authority on the matter.

With just a headline as input, people confidently disagree with the conclusion. Completely dismissing the research. And by posting such disagreement in a way that is relatable to all parents and by wording it in a fancy way, it seems an insightful comment, so it gets traction.

Superficially, it looks a healthy and intelligent discussion. In reality, almost all of it is way off and baseless. There's no truth finding. It's just Reddit with more steps and fancier language.

The other half of comments is people projecting, with random thoughts on housing and inflation, as if a 12 y/o gives a shit about that.